Some Carolina transfers are having the best years of their career.
Tyler Nickel, Jalen Washington and Cade Tyson are having the most unexpected success.
Nickel, a 6-7 reputed shooter, saw about 6 minutes a game as a freshman Tar Heel in 2022-23. He then transferred to Virginia Tech, where he got more playing time, averaged 9 points, shot 44 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the 3-point line. He then moved on to Vanderbilt, starting all 33 games last season and upped his scoring average.
This season, Nickel’s game has reached full bloom for the undefeated and 11-th ranked Commodores, as one of their top scorers and best shooters. Through 14 games, he is averaging 15 points and shooting 53 percent overall and a stunning 49 percent from the arc. In all likelihood, he will play in his first NCAA tournament in March.
Nickel was joined in Nashville this season by another former Tar Heel, Jalen Washington, who does not start but plays more than the last two seasons as a postman in Chapel Hill. At Vandy, J-Wash gets about 19 minutes per game, averages more than 10 points and is shooting 63 percent, plus more than 5 rebounds per game and has blocked a team-high 19 shots.
By far, the quantum leap has been made by Cade Tyson who transferred here from Belmont where he was rookie of the year in the Missouri Valley Conference and earned six figures in UNC NIL money. As a Tar Heel, he appeared in 31 games and averaged about 8 minutes. His stone-cold shooting buried him on the bench and he wound up hitting only just over 40 percent overall and under 30 percent from outside. Tyson was expected to enter the transfer portal and did along with Washington, starting point guard Elliot Cadeau and 5-star forward Ian Jackson off the 2024-25 squad.
At Minnesota, Tyson starts and plays more than 35 minutes. He is the Golden Gophers’ leading scorer at 22 points per game and shoots 53 percent and 40 percent from downtown Minneapolis. But he stars for a team that is 9-5 and will finish in the lower half of the Big Ten standings, which has six ranked teams.
Compare that to Cadeau, the popular point guard for top-ranked Michigan who will garner all kinds of post-season honors with a favorite to reach the Final Four. He plays 24 minutes for a deep roster and averages just under 10 points and 6 assists.
Other transfers flourished. Caleb Love left UNC for Arizona after three years and was Pac 12 Player of the Year. Walker Kessler transferred to Auburn and was a first-round NBA draft pick. Jackson is at St. John’s with about the same stats he had here.
There were about another half dozen transfers looking for more playing and maybe more money. But none got as much as those above.
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Featured image via Associated Press/Michael Conroy
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
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