Recruiting analyst breaks down Nolan Hickman

Part of the reason for the Kentucky Wildcats 1-3 start has been due to the poor play from the point guard position.

Devin Askew has struggled mightily in his first four career college games, while Davion Mintz has been up and down as turnovers have piled up for the Wildcats.

With that, the Big Blue Nation is watching the 2021 point guard class closely, including keeping an eye on four-star signee Nolan Hickman.

Hickman signed with the Cats during the early signing period in November and is set to join the Wildcats next summer. Recently, he climbed to the 30th-overall ranking at 247 Sports and 28th spot at ESPN, so he’s seemingly within reach of five-star status and a McDonald’s All-American nomination.

In an interview with Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader 247 Sports analyst Travis Branham broke down the incoming Wildcat, who he expects to be a multi-year college player.

“He’s a solid player. He’s really skilled. Smart,” Branham said. “He functions on and off the ball fluidly, so if he’s on the ball vs. off the ball, you’re not really going to see a major difference in how he impacts the game. He’s going to be effective both on and off it. He’s a good ball handler. He has great vision and passing ability — I actually think that’s his biggest strength is his ability to get in the paint and just find teammates, whether it be guys cutting to the rim or on the block in the dunker’s spot or spotting up on the perimeter. He just has a good feel for the game.”

These traits are exactly what Kentucky is looking for as their passing has been lackluster at best so far this season, leading to a high amount of turnovers.

“Nolan’s a high IQ kid. He is unselfish,” Branham said. “He’s going to play on or off the ball. It doesn’t matter to him.”

For Branham’s full breakdown and more from Roberts, check out the full story here.

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