Nolan Hickman, center, is now headed to Gonzaga
Nolan Hickman insisted one reason he wanted out of his commitment to Kentucky was because he was homesick. He had left home in Seattle to play his senior high school season in Utah — during the pandemic restrictions. Even though he signed with UK in November, he asked for his release and coach John Calipari gave it to him.
Hickman was not a top 10 recruit, but he was a talented point guard and it did not take him long to find another high-profile program that was a lot closer to home when he picked Gonzaga over Auburn and Kansas.
Coach Mark Few’s team was unbeaten last season until it lost to Baylor in the national title game. Few has the nation’s No. 1 player in the 2021 recruiting class, Chet Holmgren, signed. He also has five-star guard Hunter Sallis, a player Kentucky wanted, and four-star center Kaden Perry to go along with Hickman, a consensus top 30 player nationally. Last season Gonzaga was led by freshman point guard Jalen Suggs, who is now headed to the NBA and should be a lottery pick.
As much as Hickman could have helped UK, moving on when he did was best for him and Kentucky if his heart really was not in playing for the Cats who just got an even higher rated high school point guard in TyTy Washington.
So this time it seems Hickman’s departure has turned out to be a win-win for him and Kentucky.
