UNC Basketball: Tar Heels on cusp of landing yet another four-star recruit

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program are set to land a third four-star prospect in their outstanding 2022 recruiting class.

First-year head coach Hubert Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels are about to add to their terrific 2022 recruiting class — one that’s already ranked fifth in the nation thanks to three early commitments — two of which came from consensus top-50 players.

Their latest commitment, which will almost certainly come from four-star small forward Tyler Nickel when he announces his college decision on Wednesday afternoon, will likely cement their third top-10 recruiting class over the last four seasons. If Nickel does, in fact, pledge to the Tar Heels during his commitment ceremony at East Rockingham High School, he’ll join West Side High School’s Jalen Washington, Menomonee Falls standout Seth Trimble and Oak Mountain’s Will Shaver.

Our confidence in Nickel’s upcoming decision is due, in large part, to the recent slew of predictions in favor of the Tar Heels from our friends over at 247Sports and Rivals. Six Crystal Ball predictions — including one from Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer — have come in over the past 12 hours. Four FutureCast picks, including two that flipped from Virginia Tech to North Carolina, were also submitted on Tuesday.

A 6-foot-8, 210 pound wing from Elkton, Virginia, Nickel had nearly 20 scholarship offers prior to naming a top-five list of Butler, Iowa, LSU, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. A number of analysts and insiders felt that the Hokies had the inside track on Nickel following his September 3 recruiting visit to Blacksburg. That all changed after Nickel’s trip to Chapel Hill over the weekend, though, and the Tar Heels are now the prohibitive favorite with just hours remaining in the four-star wing’s recruitment.

Nickel is ranked 80th in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the No. 22 small forward in the class, and third in the state of Virginia.

Stick with Keeping It Heel as we continue to follow all the latest on the Tyler Nickel recruitment leading up to his decision at 2:45 p.m. EST on Wednesday.