UNC Basketball: Tar Heels’ 2022 recruiting class could look a lot like this
Tyler Nickel
Tyler Nickel officially joined the Tar Heels’ list of 2022 recruiting targets when he received a scholarship offer from Hubert Davis in late June. He’s one of five small forwards that North Carolina is hoping to add to their No. 2-ranked class that already has commitments from a pair of bigs and a rising point guard, but could really benefit from a big-time wing scorer.
The Tar Heels joined a list of nearly 20 schools that have offered Nickel, the No. 79 prospect in the nation. Butler, Cincinnati, Creighton, Indiana and West Virginia are all on his list, but it’s Iowa, LSU, NC State and Virginia Tech, along with North Carolina, that are considered “warm” according to the folks over at 247Sports. Former UNC standout and newly-elevated assistant coach Sean May has been heading up much of Nickel’s recruitment.
The entire UNC coaching staff watched Nickel put on a clinic at a tournament in Bermuda Run, North Carolina last month. The 6-foot-8-inch, 210-pound wing had 31 points and 10 rebounds in his first game of the tourney, and backed it up with a sensational 36-point, 11-rebound performance in game two. The following day, Nickel scored a combined 64 points in two games, proving that the prior day’s work was no fluke.
Although Nickel isn’t the most athletic prospect on the Tar Heels’ recruiting board, he’s a terrific player with a lot of upside. What he lacks in athleticism, he makes up for with hard work and toughness. He’s a versatile scoring threat capable of hitting shots from all over the court. He can hit shots from three-point range, as well as inside the arc. He plays well on and off the ball, and doesn’t shy away from contact. He can knock down shots standing still, and off the dribble.
The East Rockingham senior is ranked just 22nd among small forwards in the class — a position that doesn’t aptly reflect how good he really is, in my opinion. Neither does his No. 96 overall ranking in the Rivals150, though I expect that to improve in the coming months.