Nickelberry's time in Libya pays off for Howard‎ University

As the former coach at Hampton and an ex-assistant at Clemson and a handful of mid-majors, Kevin Nickelberry never has been able to pick and choose his recruits from a selection of top-level prospects. But even for a coach who has spent many of his days in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Patriot League and Northeast Conference, recruiting never was as tough as it was at his last job.

Before he was hired as coach at Howard in May, Nickelberry scoured dusty gyms trying to assemble a scrappy team that could hold its own against the best competition on the continent. Only those dusty gyms - some of which didn't even have doors - were scattered across Libya. "I use the word 'gym' loosely," Nickelberry said. "There's a floor, there's dirt and there's dust all over."

After resigning under pressure at Hampton following the 2008-09 season because he hadn't won enough, Nickelberry landed a job as the coach of the Libyan national team for four months as the country hosted its first FIBA African Championships.

READ MORE, CLICK TITLE.