Tyler Nickel Commits To UNC
Tyler Nickel, a 6-foot-6 wing from Elkton, VA, has announced he will play basketball for Hubert Davis and North Carolina.
Nickel, who is a 3-star prospect and rated the No. 134 player in the nation overall, was offered by UNC on June 21 after most of the staff watched him play in the NCHSAA team camp in Bermuda Run. UNC wanted someone who could fill it up from the perimeter, and that’s a role suitable for Nickel’s skills.
"Basically, they said they have a need for wing scorers, and that's what I bring to the table,” Nickel told THI. “He was saying how that would fit. My size, he could put me in a lot of different concepts and situations. On the defensive end how I could match up with different positions."
Nickel has scored 1,902 career points at East Rockingham High School, which is 899 off Mac McClung's state record.
During the 2020-21 season, he averaged 33.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game average. He shot 51 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. At that same pace it would take him 27 games next season to break McClung's record. In the 2019-20 season which was the last pre-COVID year, East Rockingham played 30 total games.
Nickel’s relationship with Davis was good from the start and solidified this past weekend when he took an official visit to UNC. Davis spent quite a bit of time with former Carolina Coach Roy Williams before the Tar Heels’ football game versus Georgia State. Davis and Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham also joined Williams and Nickel’s parents conversing for a while before the game.
The current Tar Heels obviously showed Nickel around and hung out with him during the game, in which he appeared to have a fantastic time, but so did former Tar Heel and current Chicago Bulls guard Coby White.
The relationship with Davis cemented over the weekend.
"He's definitely a real good guy,” Nickel said. “You can tell just by talking to him. He's genuine, high energy. He cares about his people, and he cares about North Carolina a lot. He's got every good intention. He's that kind of person. You can tell from just being around him.”
Nickel is the fourth member of UNC’s class of 2022, joining Will Shaver, Seth Trimble, and Jalen Washington.