UNC Basketball: Tar Heels recruit drops 33 in season opener

Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball program have a talented 2022 recruiting class coming in, his first real class since he was hired in the spring.

This 2022 class consists of four players, headlined by three four-star recruits and a three-star recruit. Davis did a great job landing the four-man class which should finish in the top 10 when it’s all said and done.

But before these recruits get on campus next year, a few are already making an early impression.

Four-star forward Tyler Nickel was impressive in the first game of his senior season on Friday night, dropping 33 points in a 68-65 win for East Rockingham High School over Spotswood. The performance was a good one for the Tar Heels’ commit as he did it in front of assistant coach Sean May who  was in attendance for the game per Inside Carolina:

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Nickel is a top 100 player ranked No. 81 overall, No. 22 small forward and the No. 4 player in the state of Virginia per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. He committed to UNC over 18 other offers including from Virginia Tech, Iowa, Butler, Indiana and N.C. State among others.

Nickel’s performance comes after fellow UNC commit Seth Trimble opened his senior year up in Wisconsin with back-to-back 20-plus point performances. It’s very early in the high school seasons but these performances are good signs for these UNC recruits ahead of their time in Chapel Hill.

For more on Nickel and other UNC Basketball recruits, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.