UNH Athletic Director Dr. Allis Rich welcomes new men's basketball coach Nathan Davis at Friday's press conference in Durham. (Photo courtesy of UNH Athletics)

DURHAM – The University of New Hampshire hired its 21st men’s basketball coach on Friday, naming former Bucknell coach Nathan Davis to the position.

He replaces longtime Wildcats coach Bill Herrion, who was let go after 18 seasons by new UNH athletic director Dr. Allison Rich.

Davis said he shared Rich’s vision of the program, and was ready to resume his career after Bucknell fired him after the season based on a tough final four seasons of his eight-year tenure.

“I was immediately all in,” Davis said. “I thought it was an exciting time to be a part of this program, a part of this community and try to do something special.

And, his message to his players, whom he met with as a group and also on an individual bases prior to Friday’s press conference was simple:

“You may not have picked me,” he said, “but I did pick you.”

Davis’ hire was met with mixed reaction on social media, partly due to his last four years at Bucknell that produced a 40-70 record, resulting in his dismissal.

But he was hired by Rich on the strength of his first four seasons there, beginning in 2015 as he led the Bison to four straight Patriot League regular season titles and two NCAA tournament appearances, in 2017-18.

And that success is what he wants to bring to UNH, which never went to a conference final under Herrion and lost in the America East semis last month.

“Obviously they’ve had some good teams through the years, but I want to take (the program) it to a (higher) level, I want to compete for championships year in, year out,” he said. “I think it’s something with the backing of the department, of the university, that we can do. My number one goal is that I want to make sure the players reach all their dreams. On the basketball court that they can be as good as they can be. … We want them to reach all the dreams they had growing up. … We also want them to reach their dreams off the court as well.”

Again, despite recent struggles, Davis has had plenty of success. He’s been a Coach of the Year five times, guided two programs to 270 total wins. His other head job was at Randolph-Macon, where he posted a 141-39 mark over six seasons, three Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and six NCAA Divison III tourney berths – including a Division III Final Four appearance in 2010.

He also had stints as an assistant at Colgate and Bucknell. While on the Bucknell bench in 2005, the Bison upset No. 3 Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tourney, and beat Arkansas in the event the following year.

“Nathan’s ability to recruit talented student-athletes and lead programs to success are just a few of the qualities that make him the right person to energize UNH men’s basketball,” Rich said, “and take our program to new heights.”

“It won’t be easy,” Davis said. “It’s going to take a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but I think we can do it.”