Remember former Kentucky commit Nolan Hickman?
Remember Nolan Hickman? Now a junior at Gonzaga, the 6-foot-2 point guard was once committed to the Kentucky Wildcats. Nearly three years ago, he backed off that decision and ultimately landed in Spokane.
This afternoon, Hickman will finally get the chance to play at Rupp Arena.
In what will be just the third-ever matchup between Kentucky and Gonzaga, and the first in Lexington, Hickman will have the opportunity to perform in front of the Big Blue Nation. He’s pretty darn good too after so-so freshman and sophomore campaigns with the Bulldogs. Kentucky’s scouting report certainly revolves around Hickman’s abilities in the backcourt.
Through 23 games played for Gonzaga (all starts) in 2023-24, Hickman is averaging 13 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in 34.4 minutes per contest. The former four-star high school recruit is shooting 44.6 percent from the floor, 38.1 percent from deep, and 82.9 percent from the free throw line — all career highs. He’s scored in double-digits in all but five games this season.
Playing alongside guard Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga trots out one of the nation’s top backcourt duos.
Hickman has already faced the Wildcats once in his college career. Gonzaga “hosted” Kentucky in Nov. 2022 in the first game of this series, which was sparked by head coaches Mark Few and John Calipari back in April of the same year. The ‘Zags won going away, 88-72, but Hickman didn’t have his best outing. He finished with just four points, two assists, and two turnovers on 1-3 shooting in 28 minutes.
He’ll surely be out for revenge in round two at Rupp Arena. Gonzaga needs this win just as much as Kentucky does.
“I’m not quite sure (how Kentucky fans will react),” Hickman said earlier this week, according to The Spokesman-Review. “Maybe get a few boos when I touch the rock.”
But how exactly did Hickman wind up at Gonzaga after he initially chose Kentucky in August 2020? At the time of his decommitment in May 2021, UK had recently lost a pair of assistants, Tony Barbee and Joel Justus. Hickman’s father, Nolan Hickman Sr., told KSR that the loss of those two played a key role in his son’s eventual change of heart. Plus, Gonzaga is a lot closer to Hickman’s hometown outside of Seattle, WA than it is to Lexington, KY.
It ended up working out for Kentucky though. Calipari wound up bringing in five-star TyTy Washington and transfer point guard Sahvir Wheeler going into the 2021-22 season. And while we all know how that season unfortunately ended, the swap of Hickman for Washington paid off for UK. Washington went off to the NBA after being named Second-Team All-SEC and was replaced by another future draft first-round draft pick, Cason Wallace, for the 2022-23 season.
Even now, with Hickman in year three of college, Kentucky hasn’t exactly missed the Gonzaga floor general. The Wildcats have four incredibly talented guards and multiple projected first-round draft picks handling the rock on the roster this season.
All that being said, don’t be shocked if Hickman comes out with something to prove this afternoon. Tipoff between No. 17 Kentucky and Gonzaga is set for 4:00 p.m. EST on CBS.
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