For Kentucky basketball fans, it’s not very common to see a player’s name appear, apparently out of nowhere, before you bet with the Cats.
It’s still very out of the ordinary when that perspective plays the point guard position. But that’s exactly what happened to Nolan Hickman. The 6-2, 185-pound prospect from Mount Pleasant, UT today declared his allegiance to Kentucky, making him the first tackle for John Calipari’s 2021 class.
If this caught you by surprise, you were not alone. Hickman had never made a formal offer from Kentucky publicly and most believed he would stay somewhere outside the west to play his college basketball.
Schools such as Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA and Arizona all had extensive offerings and were considered leading for its recruitment, specifically the Jayhawks.
Instead, he becomes the first piece of the 2021 class in the UK, with John Calipari and his retired staff aiming to add some other names to join Hickman.
Known as a guard with good size and a large variety of tricks in his bag. Hickman has a reputation for proactively involving his teammates in offenses and is said to be a willing defender.
When I came up with some people for feedback on Hickman’s gameplay, I got similar answers spread with optimism about the role he played in 2021. He could have a strong mental approach to the game being one of the bigger ones. tangible assets he brings with him to Lexington.
How does he compare?
As far as his rankings go – Hickman’s are all over the place. Rivals ranks him as the 13th best point guard and 76th overall appearance in the 2021 class, while the occupants at 247 Sports have him ranked as the third best point guard and 30th player nationally. That’s pretty much the difference between the two services, but based on the other schools that showed interest in Hickman, it leads me to believe he’s closer to that top 30 player mark.
It is unclear exactly how much high school basketball will be played this winter, so there is no telling how many chances Hickman will have to improve his rankings. But it goes without saying that John Calipari has an eye for talent and can tell when a player will be a good fit in his program.
Now how did we get here?
This is a great question, because as mentioned earlier, even as little as a week ago, Hickman was not a household name among the Big Blue Nation. After doing some digging I was told that he probably had a silent offer for a while, but nothing was made public. That the two parties were familiar with each other and probably had earlier discussions about what an ideal scenario for Hickman might look like if he chose to come to Lexington.
The pieces began to move into place last week when five-star point guard and long-time UK goalie Kennedy Chandler went on to have the chance to play for John Calipari and instead opted to join the Tennessee Volunteers . If Chandler’s name is still in the mix with the UK, then it’s highly unlikely that Hickman is a Wildcat today.
How will he fit into it?
It’s always a slippery slope when trying to project Kentucky basketball schedules from year to year. The turnover is always greater than expected and it is never an exact science to make charged predictions.
It is quite possible that freshman point guard Devin Askew will return for his second season in 2021, giving him the likely nod to handle the starting point duty. But I hear that Askew has looked great since he came on campus, considering he is 6-4 and still growing, a scenario where he will leave after next year is very plausible.
As for other 2021 players, Kentucky has been picking up the heat over the last few days. Both Hunter Sallis and Bryce Hopkins recently received offers and Jaden Hardy is another combo guard with UK high on his list. The Cats saw great success roll last season with an offense of three guards, so maybe that’s something we could see repeated.
There is still a lot to determine before everything is said and done, but overall, Nolan Hickman should add should be a solid piece for the 2021 class.
See for yourself the latest Wildcat:
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