From the prospect himself, an announcement at 2:45 p.m. EDT:
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I touched base with people close to Nickel, as well as sources in both Blacksburg and Chapel Hill. The big picture is that nobody knows
for sure where he's headed. But the vibe - particularly in Blacksburg - is that the opportunity to lock him down has passed, and the visit to North Carolina was strong enough that the Hokies are going to be a bridesmaid here. If all you're reading is timing - immediately after returning from his official visit to North Carolina, he's ready to announce a commitment - it certainly sounds like he's Tar Heel-bound. Of course, if VT and UNC were already the top two (as they have been for a little while now), seeing both on successive weekends doesn't necessarily mean that the most-recent-visit principle is gospel.
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However, there's a pretty compelling backstory to the late stages of his recruitment that makes enough sense (and different parts of it corroborated by a variety of sources) that it seems to be true. The story is that UNC head coach Hubert Davis sat down and had a pretty frank conversation with Nickel about where he'd fit into the UNC program, and what his prognosis for playing time and ultimately a role on the court would be.
"Hubie sat him down and let him know that he might not be the top guy if he picks UNC," a person close to the Heels told me. "It was pretty honest that he'd be a bit more of a role player, and he was a guy that they didn't necessarily see as being a star in Chapel Hill."
That's clearly not the case at VT - where the Hokies view him as a very important part of the 2022 recruiting cycle, and project him to have a major role should he choose the home-state school. Instead of turning Nickel off to joining North Carolina, however, a different source indicates that this may very well have actually
motivated him in favor of the Heels. He wants to test himself at the highest level, and not only earn his way onto the court there, but prove that he can indeed be an important piece for a program that has a more consistent stream of top-end talent than Virginia Tech does. (Of course, the Hokies can counter that being a
bigger piece of a program that has had a similar level of conference and national success - and isn't going through a regime change - is a different and more exciting challenge to take on. It just doesn't seem to be as convincing an argument to the kid at this point).
The Hokies have not been officially turned down yet, and it seems the staff is pessimistic but not giving up hope - which is to say it's not quite over, even if the worst fears are confirmed to be true.
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