North Carolina welcomed in a familiar face on Saturday as former Tar Heel Tyler Nickel and the Virginia Tech Hokies came to Chapel Hill for an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown. Nickel is a former UNC commit, playing one year with the program before transferring to play at Virginia Tech.
And on Saturday, he faced off against his former team for the first time in his career.
Nickel played 27 minutes, scoring 14 points with four made three-pointers on the day. He also had a rebound, block and assist in the game as well. After the game, Nickel was asked about facing off against his former team and he revealed that it brought back some memories.
“It definitely brought back some memories and stuff like that,” Nickel told Inside Carolina after the game. “It was all good. It felt comfortable, really. It felt comfortable out there, felt good to play against the guys. Just being here again, it was cool.”
Nickel came in as part of the 2022 class with both Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington. He was the lone player in the class to leave but it does sound like he still stays in touch with those guys and others on the team.
“It’s weird because it’s familiar and you see these people, like they’re family,” Nickel said. “So it’s great to see them, obviously. With the situation at hand of having to go out there and go at it, it’s all competition and we all love it.”
Unless the two teams meet in the ACC Tournament, this will be the lone matchup for them this season. But they will meet again next year.
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