After two official visits, Tyler Nickel is ready to end his recruitment. The 6-foot-7 senior forward from Elkton (Va.) East Rockingham said he will announce his decision Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 2:45 p.m. at his high school.
Nickel, ranked the No. 75 overall prospect in the 2022 class by 247Sports, previously disclosed a final five of Butler, Iowa, LSU, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech. He planned to officially visit all his finalists but ultimately only spent weekends in Blacksburg (Sept. 4) and Chapel Hill (Sept. 11) prior to setting the announcement date, signifying that the Hokies and Tar Heels are the two left standing.
Here’s what Nickel recently told 247Sports about those two recruitments …
North Carolina: “I feel like I have a really good relationship with Coach (Hubert) Davis. He’s made it very clear to me how important I am to them and what I would bring to the table. He’s also built a good relationship with my family and I. He feels like someone you can trust the more and more you talk to him. They’ve got a lot of good pieces there now but one thing they said they need now is a scoring wing. That’s what I bring to the table and that’s probably the most notable thing about my game. The fact that it’s a need for them gives me a good opportunity for me to come in and be that.”
Virginia Tech: “I have a really strong bond relationship with their coaching staff as they’ve been there the longest out of all the five schools. Being in-state they’ve been able to see me a lot. They’ve made it very clear that I would be their guy and they really want me there. They’ve broken down my plays and how I would be able to showcase that at Virginia Tech. Also how I could help them win and help myself individually develop into the best player possible.”
UNC is aiming to make Nickel its fourth commitment in the 2022 recruiting class, joining guard Seth Trimble and big men Jalen Washington and Will Shaver. That trio has the Tar Heels ranked No. 4 in the 247Sports team recruiting rankings. The addition of Nickel would, for now, move UNC into the No. 1 spot. Virginia Tech has one commitment thus far in this class in combo guard M.J. Collins.
“I definitely want to get up and down and play with space and rhythm within the offense … The atmosphere of where I am going … the relationship with the coach and team,” Nickel said of the main factors in his decision. “I want to go somewhere where I can develop as a player but at the same time, I want to go to a school where I can win as well. With all of that being said, my ultimate goal is to be an NBA player.”
