UNC Basketball Recruiting: Tyler Nickel sets new record with big game

UNC basketball commit Tyler Nickel is off to a hot start in his senior year at East Rockingham in Virginia so far. And on Tuesday, he continued that start with another monster game that was a record-setter.

In a 73-41 rout of Strasburg on Tuesday night, Nickel scored a career-high 48 points in the game to lead East Rockingham. The 48 points is not only the career-high for Nickel but it’s also a single-game record for East Rockingham High School.

Nickel was absolutely fantastic in the game and scored 38 of his 48 points in the first half alone, getting off to that hot start. He also added seven rebounds in the game.

The 6-foot-8-inch, 210-pound forward is really starting to improve his game at the right time here in his senior season. He got the season off to a great start with scoring outputs of 33, 29 and 37 points. Nickel had a bit of a layoff since his last game on December 23rd, finishing that game with 34 points and added 12 rebounds.

This hot streak that Nickel is on bodes well for UNC fans as the hype continues to grow before he gets on campus. Nickel is proving that he’s a really good scorer and a good rebounder which hopefully transfers over well to his college career.

Nickel is ranked as a four-star prospect that is No. 82 nationally, No. 22 small forward and the No. 4 player in the state of Virginia per the 247Sports recruiting rankings. If he keeps this play up, he could see a bump in his ranking before it’s all said and done. That would also help UNC’s four man class ranking that includes Seth Trimble, Will Shaver, Jalen Washington and Nickel.

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