The career of Nichols started promising with the Illini. He came in four years ago and averaged 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. The first year under Brad Underwood was solid too. He increased his numbers to 10 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Since then, everything has been kind of downhill with Nichols.
This past season, Nichols took a step back in his development. He put up 5.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game but still received 18.1 minutes in each contest. That lack of production hurt the team. He is in more of a reserve role this season with the program.