A player who can drive by his man and make a three? UK might have one next season.
It doesn’t take a basketball genius to identify that this Kentucky team is missing two crucial ingredients of a potent offense.
Players who can drive by their defenders. And guys who can shoot from the outside.
Getting someone who could accomplish the first of these things would surely make the second much easier, and — while there might not be much sign that this Wildcats team will fix those problems over the next few weeks — UK could be getting a player who can check both of those boxes next season.
Back in August, Nolan Hickman became the first recruit to commit to Kentucky’s 2021 class. He signed with the Wildcats in November, and he’s shown this season — against elite competition on a national level — that he can get by his man and isn’t afraid to let fly from three-point range.
“He can do both of those things,” said Paul Peterson, Hickman’s coach at Wasatch Academy (Utah), where the future Wildcat transferred over the summer to finish his high school career.
Hickman left his hometown of Seattle to hone his skills at Wasatch, which plays a national schedule, and — despite the COVID-19 pandemic — has been able to travel this season for a series of games against the likes of Montverde (Fla.), Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and Sunrise Christian (Kan.), all top 15 teams in the country.
Some of those games have even been on national television. That exposure will continue Friday, when Hickman leads Wasatch against Oak Hill at 3 p.m. on ESPNU. Wasatch then plays national No. 1 Montverde at 6 p.m. Saturday in a game that will be available to stream live on ESPN3.
Kentucky fans hoping for someone who can drive and shoot can get a glimpse at Hickman this weekend. Peterson has been watching it all season, and he thinks those skills will translate to the next level.
“He has a really herky-jerky style when he’s getting by people,” Peterson said. “It’s not like the typical attack. His hesitation and his shot-fake are so good. His ability to shot-fake you off the dribble is amazing, and his release is so quick — he doesn’t really have to jump that high, and his release is so quick that you have to respect that.”
Defenders have to respect the possibility that Hickman could put up a three at any moment, because he’s not afraid to do so. And they often go in. He takes several threes a game, with range that extends to the NBA line, and Peterson estimated he’s shooting close to 45 percent from deep on the season.
“I give him the ultimate green light,” he said. “But I tell him that green light comes with responsibility. And he knows that we’re better with him being aggressive.”
That said, Hickman doesn’t simply go out and try to take games over by himself. He’s surrounded by talented teammates that will play high-major college basketball, and — on nights that he isn’t making shots — he’s more than capable of affecting games through his passing ability and defense.
“I think the biggest thing for him is he just kind of lets the game come to him,” Peterson said. “He doesn’t force it — whatever the game brings, he puts his fingerprint on it.
“He’s been great. He kind of emerged as the leader right away, just because of his likability off the court and his ability to pass the ball — he fit right in really fast. Everyone took a liking to him right away.”
Hickman projects as the kind of player who could open the floor for Kentucky’s offense next season, giving Devin Askew — a highly touted outside shooter as a high school prospect — some much-needed help on the perimeter while also creating room for guys like Dontaie Allen.
In the meantime, Hickman is getting indispensable experience playing with and against other talented players. Friday’s game will be Wasatch’s third meeting this season with Oak Hill. The team has played twice against Sunrise Christian, which features Tennessee signee Kennedy Chandler, who is ranked as one of the nation’s top point guards.
And Saturday’s game against Montverde — a squad with elite recruits at every position up and down the roster — will pit Hickman against several talented perimeter players, as well as 6-10 center Jalen Duren, a major Kentucky target and perhaps the top performer in all of high school basketball this season. (Duren and Montverde also play Sunrise at 5 p.m. Friday on ESPNU).
Peterson said games like this — with so many good players on the court — can only help a point guard like Hickman prepare for what’s to come next season.
“You might have to give everything you have to get past this top 25 guard in front of you,” he said. “And then you get by him and you have to figure out how to get around this top 25 center coming to block your shot or take your head off. You kind of have to have your head on a swivel at all times.”
