UVA reaches out in portal to VT’s Nickel and USC’s Perry

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia has reached out to former Virginia Tech sharpshooter Tyler Nickel and to former Southern Cal commit Trent Perry, a McDonald’s All-American point guard.

Nickel, who is originally from Elkton, played last season for Tech after signing with North Carolina out of high school at East Rockingham. Appearing in only a handful of games for the Tar Heels, Nickel transferred to Blacksburg and played in 33 games, starting seven for Mike Young. He is one of seven Hokies to enter the transfer portal.

Nickel has been contacted by UVA, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Providence and St. Mary’s.

Regarded as a stretch 4, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward averaged 8.8 points per game for the Hokies last season and made 44 percent of his field goals in 24.3 minutes per game. He also shot 39.9 percent from the 3-point arc, where 4.5 of his 6.6 shot attempts per game came from.

Nickel is the all-time leading scorer in Virginia High School League history, posting 2,909 points per game, averaging 28.2 points per contest for East Rockingham.

Perry is a player Virginia was involved with in the previous recruiting cycle before the 4-star point guard who previously committed to Southern Cal. Perry, a highly-regarded point guard, decommitted from USC this week when Trojans coach Andy Enfield bolted for the SMU job  (SMU joins the ACC this summer).

“I chose to decommit from USC due to Andy Enfield leaving,” Perry said. “I believe that was the best decision for me so that I can weigh all my options and decide what is best. Of course I’m eager to see who the next coach at USC will be.”

According to reports Thursday afternoon, USC will hire Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman.

Perry, who has also heard from UCLA, Alabama, Gonzaga, Nebraska, Stanford and others, is ranked the No. 69 overall recruit in the country, the No. 4 prospect in the state of California.

The 6-4 guard played for Harvard Westlake in Studio City, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles.

“I’m an all-around player, a two-way player,” Perry said. “I play both ends of the floor, whatever it takes. I’ll defend the other team’s best player, rebound, facilitate and really do it all. I’ve stayed in the gym, working on all aspects. I watch a lot of Russell Westbrook. He gets triple-doubles and has an impact on all parts of the game. I try to do the same.”

Virginia has also reached out to the following players in the last week:

• Atin Wright, 6-1, junior, from Drake. Has been contacted by Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Florida, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Cal. Formerly played at Cal State-Northridge. Drake’s second-leading scorer, 14.2 ppg.
• Joshua Jefferson, 6-8, sophomore forward, St. Mary’s. Started 26 games. Averaged 10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.3 assists, 1.2 steals.
• Hysier Miller, junior guard, Temple, one year of eligibility. Led Owls in scoring, 15.9 ppg., 3.6 rpg, 4.0 assists. Also contacted by Virginia Tech, Providence, Seton Hall.
• Tucker Anderson, 6-9, Central Arkansas wing. Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year, 14 ppg, made 38 percent of his 3-point attempts.
• Darlinstone Dubar, 6-6 Hofstra guard, originally from Charlotte, N.C., averaged 17.8 ppg, shot 54 percent from the field. Has at least one year of eligibility remaining. Has also been contacted by Tennessee, Indiana, Kansas, Auburn, Kansas State and Arkansas.
• Gavin Griffiths, 6-7 shooting guard, Rutgers, Appeared in 32 games, started only three. Averaged 5.8 ppg, 32.4 percent field goal shooter, 28.2 from the arc.
• Cade Tyson, 6-7 shooter, Belmont. Was 2022-23 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of Year, and this past season averaged 16.9 points, 5.9 rpg, shot 49 percent from the field, 46.5 from the arc and 85.5 from the free-throw line. Ranked No. 2 nationally in 3-point percentage per the NCAA’s criteria. Contacted by UVA, North Carolina, Villanova, Virginia Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, VCU, Duke,Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Texas, Auburn and others.

ACC schools and the number of players that have entered the portal as of Wednesday:

• Boston College – 1
• California -7
• Clemson – 0
• Duke – 1
• Florida State – 6
• Georgia Tech – 3
• Louisville – 12
• Miami – 5
• North Carolina – 0
• NC State – 1
• Notre Dame – 3
• Pitt – 2
• SMU – 0
• Stanford – 5
• Syracuse – 5
• Virginia – 0
• Virginia Tech – 7
• Wake Forest – 6