Nolan Hickman has potential to be the best PG in 2021 class

Merely one week ago, very few people in the state of Kentucky had ever even heard the name Nolan Hickman.

Now, the 6-2 point guard finds himself under the bright spotlight of being Kentucky’s first commit in the class of 2021. The little familiarity of his game prompted scrambling over the past 48 hours among fans and even members of the media.

So far, the feedback appears to be overwhelmingly positive.

Could Kentucky have found somewhat of a diamond in the rough?

Kyle Tucker from The Athletic has provided some specific insight into Hickman’s fast and furious commitment. He tweeted that optimism is sky high from both inside and outside of the program in terms of his trajectory, so much so that nobody seems to be shying away from placing some pretty loft goals on Hickman’s shoulders — including finishing as the top player in the nation at his position.

To state the obvious, the current No. 1 point guard in the class of 2021, Kennedy Chandler, just passed on Kentucky and committed to Tennessee only a few days ago. Hickman kept his UK offer a secret for several weeks as he waited to see if a potential opportunity opened up for him to play for John Calipari.

Currently, 247 Sports Composite only has him ranked as the seventh-best point guard in the nation, while the actual site rankings list him as third. Regardless of a final ranking, it’s exciting to know how many people believe Hickman is a special talent.

Now, he’s heading to Lexington with high expectations and a plan to bring others along with him.

Tucker’s article also dropped an interesting tidbit about Hickman’s intentions to act as a player recruiter for the class of 2021. And wouldn’t you know it, his good friend and former AAU teammate just happens to be recent Duke commit and former UK target, Paolo Banchero. Although it’s highly unlikely Hickman persuades Banchero out of his Duke commitment, it’s still great to know he will be putting in the effort.

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