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Following his decommitment from Kentucky, five-star point guard Nolan Hickman is nearing a decision on where he’ll officially play college hoops next season.
On Thursday, Hickman announced his final three, which includes the Kansas Jayhawks, Gonzaga Bulldogs and Auburn Tigers.
Former Kentucky commit Nolan Hickman is down to Auburn, Gonzaga, and Kansas, per his father. An official announcement is expected in the next few weeks.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 13, 2021
One of the top point guards in the 2021 class.
In the final recruiting rankings, Hickman is 20th overall at Rivals, 22nd at ESPN, and 42nd at 247 Sports. His composite ranking is now 32nd, 11 spots behind TyTy at 21st.
Thus far, there have been no predictions logged for where Hickman lands, but there’s obviously a chance Kentucky may end up facing him if he’s considering Auburn and Kansas.
Kentucky has played the Tigers twice in SEC play a lot recently, while Kansas ends up on the schedule most years via the Champions Classic or SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
The Wildcats are in good shape at point guard now that TyTy Washington is in the fold while Sahvir Wheeler may soon join him, and both Kellan Grady and CJ Fredrick can run the offense for brief stretches. It would still be unfortunate if losing Hickman ends up giving a big boost to a rival, especially the Jayhawks as they inch closer to the all-time program wins list. Kentucky has just a four-game lead heading into the 2021-22 season.
Gonzaga already has Andrew Nembhard and Hunter Sallis in the backcourt next season, though Hickman is a Seattle (WA) native, so playing in nearby Spokane could be what he ultimately wants to do.
Where do you think Hickman will land? Let us know in the comments section.