UNC Basketball: Where Tar Heels’ 2022 class ranks after Nickel commitment

The UNC basketball program added another piece to their 2022 recruiting class, landing a commitment from four-star forward Tyler Nickel on Wednesday afternoon.

The Virginia native picked UNC over Virginia Tech on Wednesday, ending his recruitment with a ceremony at his high school. With the addition of Nickel, it gave UNC their fourth commitment in the 2022 class and first in a few weeks. It’s also likely the last piece UNC adds barring a surprise in this 2022 class.

After adding Nickel, UNC’s ranking also climbed to the top in the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Going into Wednesday’s decision they were fifth behind Duke, Ohio State, Kansas and Virginia. But adding Nickel has bumped their recruitment up to No. 1 overall again.

While UNC’s class was once ranked No. 1 in these rankings after landing Will Shaver, Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington, they fell back just a bit with other recruits committing elsewhere. Now, the Tar Heels are back in control of the top spot with four commitments, holding off those previously mentioned teams.

Another bright spot to this is that the Tar Heels have overtaken Duke for not only the No. 1 spot in the national rankings but in the Atlantic Coast Conference as well. The only question now is how long will this remain?

It’s not likely the Tar Heels stay in this No. 1 spot, as holding off Duke and Kansas won’t be an easy feat as both do have big targets still remaining. But right now, UNC fans should savor this, and enjoy seeing their class at the top.

As for where UNC’s commits rank overall, Trimble leads the way at No. 34 followed by Washington at No. 41, Nickel at No. 83 and then Shaver at 143 overall. Three of the four commits are ranked as four stars with Trimble having the potential to maybe climb to a fifth star when this class is over with.

For more on the UNC Basketball program and recruiting, please check back with Keeping It Heel.