Kentucky fans can watch UK’s point guard of the future on ESPN this week. Here’s how.
Kentucky point guard signee Nolan Hickman will be competing for a high school national championship this week, and Wildcats fans can follow his title quest on ESPN.
Hickman — a 6-foot-3 playmaker with a 6-6.5 wingspan — is expected to compete for UK’s starting point guard role next season. Before he gets to Lexington, he’ll lead his Wasatch Academy (Utah) squad in the Geico Nationals tournament this week.
Wasatch was one of 10 teams to be selected for the high school national championship tournament, which starts Wednesday with two play-in-style games on ESPN3.
Hickman and Wasatch will face Arizona Compass Prep at 6 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU, the last of four quarterfinal games played on the channel that day. The Arizona squad features TyTy Washington, another highly touted point guard in the 2021 class. Washington recently backed out of a commitment to Creighton — making him one of the top available recruits in the senior class — and his matchup with Hickman will be among the most anticipated in the entire tournament.
If Wasatch can get past Arizona Compass Prep, the team will advance to the semifinals at 4:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN2.
The national champion will be crowned in the title game Saturday at noon on ESPN.
Other players to keep an eye on in the tournament include Montverde Academy (Fla.) center Jalen Duren, and IMG Academy (Fla.) guards Tamar “Scoop” Bates and Jaden Bradley.
Duren is a dominant big man and the No. 2 overall player in the 2022 class. He earned a scholarship from Kentucky early in the process and projects as one of the best frontcourt recruits in years. Montverde plays its first game Thursday at 4 p.m. on ESPNU.
Bates — a 6-4 shooting guard from Kansas — recently asked Texas for a release from his letter of intent following the departure of head coach Shaka Smart last week. Current UK assistant coach Jai Lucas was actually Bates’ primary recruiter at Texas, and the four-star prospect from the 2021 class is expected to be on Kentucky’s recruiting radar for next season. Bates plans to play out this tournament before he takes a serious look at new recruiting options.
Bradley is a five-star point guard in the 2022 class and earned a UK scholarship offer earlier this season. This is his first season at IMG Academy, and he’ll be among the most-watched players on the Nike circuit this spring. IMG plays its first game Thursday at noon on ESPNU.
For more information on what to watch at the Geico Nationals, the team of analysts at Pro Insight put together a wonderful roundtable discussion this week covering all aspects of the tournament. You can check out their thoughts here.
