Duke basketball staff undeterred by recruit’s lifelong UNC fandom
By Matt Giles
A Duke basketball recruiting offer may soon go out to a UNC basketball fan.
Talking with SI.com recruiting insider Jason Jordan this weekend at the Adidas 3SSB Live in Alabama, Team Loaded (Va.) small forward Tyler Nickel noted that the Duke basketball recruiters have reached out with increasing frequency these past few weeks:
“I’m growing my relationship with them now too. They’re watching while I’m in Alabama, like the other schools. I’m just gonna see what comes after the live periods and go from there. I’m just staying open.”
However, Nickel basically admitted to Jordan that he is Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred:
“I just loved watching them play, and a lot of my friends were fans of UNC too. Getting that offer was probably the most surreal moment in my recruitment so far…That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the best place for me.”
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound four-star might eventually receive an offer from Duke as well. For now, though, Nickel’s offer sheet consists of 18 schools, including another persistent ACC pursuer from Tobacco Road: NC State.
Nickel, who ranks No. 79 overall on the 247Sports 2022 Composite, is a versatile scoring machine. As a junior for East Rockingham (Va.), he averaged 35 points plus 11 rebounds and five assists, according to Jordan. And now, playing for a Team Loaded squad that is, well, loaded with talent, he’s used his quick trigger to put up 17 points per game.
A look at Duke basketball’s 2022 recruiting efforts to date
At this fairly early juncture, the Blue Devils have not landed a single pledge from the class despite hosting four players for official visits in June. That said, Duke has also yet to face a single rejection from its official list of targets.
Offers are on the table to six prospects: La Lumiere (Ind.) four-star point guard JJ Starling, Coppell (Texas) four-star combo guard Anthony Black, Sunrise Christian (Kan.) five-star small forward Mark Mitchell, Montverde (Fla.) five-star small forward Dariq Whitehead, Wilbraham & Monson (Mass.) four-star power forward Kyle Filipowski, and Westtown (Pa.) five-star center Dereck Lively.
Next. Predicting Duke basketball's 2022 recruiting class. dark
Meanwhile, eight miles down Tobacco Road, the Tar Heels’ three-deep 2022 haul sits No. 1 on the 247Sports Class Rankings.