UNC Basketball: Promising freshman Tyler Nickel enters transfer portal

Tyler Nickel, a former consensus four-star recruit, has decided to enter the transfer portal after just one season at UNC Basketball, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.

The 6-foot-8 wing from Elkton, Virginia, was one of the Tar Heels’ most promising recruits in 2022 and played in all 25 games this season, averaging 2.1 points in 6 minutes per game. His potential departure leaves a void in UNC’s roster and raises questions about the team’s prospects for the upcoming season.

Nickel has a pure shooting stroke from deep and great touch in the mid-range, but he struggled to find consistent minutes in Hubert Davis’ rotation this year largely due to his inconsistency defensively. He also has room to improve as a ball handler, but his size and deep range as a shooter make him an intriguing player that UNC fans and coaches were expecting to be a significant part of the team’s rotation moving forward. Other power-conference programs will see the same, making him a notable early entrant into the transfer portal.

Justin McKoy also entered the transfer portal on Monday after two seasons in Chapel Hill. This will be McKoy’s second time transferring after previously spending two seasons at Virginia. The graduate transfer averaged 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in his two seasons at Virginia and 1.2 points and 1.3 rebounds per game at UNC. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

The Tar Heels grabbed headlines for the wrong reasons in the 2022-23 season, becoming the first preseason No. 1 team to miss the NCAA Tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Armando Bacot dealt with nagging injuries but was still a first-team All-ACC player. Bacot – UNC’s all-time leading rebounder – has one more year of eligibility remaining but has been fairly tight-lipped about his intentions.

Notably, Caleb Love and RJ Davis also have decisions to make on whether they will attempt to go pro, stay at Carolina, or enter the transfer portal. Although possible, it seems unlikely that both will be back in Chapel Hill next season.

The Tar Heels lose two starters to eligibility in Leaky Black and Pete Nance. As one of the best defenders in college basketball over the last few seasons, Black’s departure in particular leaves a glaring gap.

Hubert Davis’ 2023 recruiting class includes four-star combo guard Simeon Wilcher and four-star forward Zayden High. Assuming Bacot returns, that puts North Carolina at 10 of 13 scholarship players, although that number could clearly change if more players decide to join Nickel and McKoy in the portal.

In light of Carolina’s massively disappointing 2022-23 season, it might not be a bad thing for Hubert Davis to have several scholarships to go portaling with.