Kentucky Signee Nolan Hickman Confident He’ll Fit Into the Rotation Next Season
Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah) point guard Nolan Hickman committed to Kentucky well before the Wildcats were coughing up the ball more than 15 times a game and circulating point guards around trying to find the right fit.
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Still, he’s less worried about duking it out for playing time and more focused on what he’ll bring to Lexington next season.
“I’m not worried about playing at all,” Hickman said. “What I’ll bring is my ability to facilitate, competitiveness and ability to win games. My goal is to definitely be the starting point guard next season.”
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As it stands, Hickman’s stiffest competition at the point will come from Devin Askew. Davion Mintz will be gone next season and Terrence Clarke, who has run the point at times for the Wildcats this season, is expected to enter the NBA Draft after the season.
Hickman said the staff has casually compared him to former Wildcats point guard Tyler Ulis, who averaged 11.3 points and 5.3 assists a game in two seasons in Lexington from 2014-2016.
Both are smaller balls of energy who score in bunches, masterfully run the show and play with a chip.
Hickman said while he understands the comparisons to Ulis, he prides himself in bringing something to Big Blue Nation that they haven’t seen yet.
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“Not even being cocky or anything like that, but I just don’t think I’m comparable to anyone else,” Hickman said. “I don’t feel like anyone else has that big a chip and plays with that fire like me.”
Hickman said his on-court urgency is rooted in being overlooked and underrated.
He played alongside more publicized stars like Paolo Banchero, a Duke commit who is ranked No. 2 overall in the SI99, and Shane Nowell, an Arizona commit, on Seattle Rotary in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
“Those are my guys and they deserved recognition, but it made me hungrier that I never really got the respect,” Hickman said. “When I look back it was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. I play with an edge that other players don’t have, and that’s what I’m bringing to Kentucky.”