6 teams that should target top-30 NCAA Basketball prospect Nolan Hickman

Arizona Wildcats

New head coach Tommy Lloyd is fairly familiar with Hickman when he was scouting him as an assistant at Gonzaga in the past year. Now as the leader of the Wildcats, he can offer Hickman plenty of playing time as a freshman, since both James Akinjo and Terrell Brown Jr. each transferred out. That’s over eight assists a game gone, leaving rising sophomore Kerr Kriisa as the lone ball-handler on the current roster.

Arizona not only can take on Hickman but also his friend TyTy Washington. Both are point guards but again, Coach Lloyd is coming off a season where Jalen Suggs and Andrew Nembhard did just fine on the court together at Gonzaga. These guards could do something similar on a new-look roster and be on a tournament contender in the Pac-12.

Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils have two good reasons to be among the potential list of contenders here. The first is that both Hickman and No. 2 overall prospect Paolo Banchero played together and are close from their time out west. Even more important is that there is a hole in the roster at the point guard position still.

Rising sophomore Jeremy Roach is the projected starter but he’s more of a combo guard than a true point. The team did land top-100 point guard Jaylen Blakes but he may not even be a rotational player in year one. Hickman could come in and be the point guard the Blue Devils need, solidifying their No. 1 overall class. But they may be more interested in making sure five-star forward prospect Patrick Baldwin Jr. picks them in the next few weeks.