Nerlande Nicolas began her coaching career in familiar surroundings.
The first-year graduate intern was a major cog in the best four-year run in women’s basketball history under head coach Kevin Morris from 2004-2008, helping the Scarlet Raiders post consecutive winnings season which included four straight New Jersey Athletic Conference Championship tournament berths and four consecutive ECAC Metro Championship playoff bids.
She is in her second year as the program's graduate intern.
As a senior, Nicolas was named to the All-NJAC second team after averaging career-bests of 9.0 points and 3.0 assists as Rutgers-Newark rolled to an all-time program best record of 19-8. She finished her sterling career with 771 points, 324 rebounds, 272 assists and 171 steals while the Raiders amassed a cumulative record of 65-40. The heady perimeter guard started in 82 of her 108 career appearances.
This actually marks the second season on the Raider bench for Nicolas who helped out as an assistant in 2008-09.
Born in Newark and a native of near-by Maplewood, NJ, Nicolas played two years of basketball at Columbia High School before arriving at Rutgers-Newark.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business from Rutgers-Newark in 2008.
