JUCO transfer David Nickelberry becomes first commit of Whitesell era

By MICHAEL BUNDT

One of the top JUCO players in the country will soon be calling Buffalo home.

David Nickelberry, a 6-foot-7 wing out of Trinity Valley (No. 31 on JUCO top 100) announced on social media on Sunday that he’ll be continuing his college basketball career at UB.

View this post on Instagram

 

I want to start off by saying thank you Lord for giving me the abilities I have today to keep pursuing my ultimate goal. The recruiting process has been a challenge this time around, but I am beyond grateful to have been recruited by tough schools that would have only made me a better player but not only that, a better person. I want to thank my family and friends for helping me with this very difficult decision to continue my academic and athletic career. Thank you TVCC for helping me grow as a student-athlete, I am extremely grateful for all the love you have showed this year. Thank you to all the coaches who have recruited me this year, I am extremely grateful for the opportunities you guys have showed me that I could possibly have at your program. With that being said, I am extremely excited to say I have committed to the University at Buffalo, New York’s Powerhouse!⚫️???? BULL NATION, LETS GET IT!????

A post shared by David Nickelberry (@dnick.1) on Apr 21, 2019 at 12:26pm PDT

He becomes the first player to commit to the Bulls since Jim Whitesell took over as head coach in early April.

Buffalo saw all four of their previous commits leave the program following Nate Oats departure for Alabama, making Nickelberry the first member of their 2019 class.

He’s coming off a productive season in which he averaged 15 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Nickelberry was an impact player in high school, listed as a three star recruit, ranking 157th on the 247 sports Top 247 list and 215th in their composite rankings, receiving offers from schools in the SEC, ACC, PAC 12 and Big 12.

He spent his freshman year coming off the bench at Memphis under Tubby Smith, averaging 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds, transferring once the school parted ways with their veteran head coach.

Nickelberry is a versatile wing and figures to make an immediate impact in the Bulls rotation.

He said committing to Buffalo was an easy decision.

“I’m excited to be joining this team that has nothing but weapons at every position,” said Nickelberry, “The whole team is a bunch of unselfish guys that love winning and I can promise you I am the same way.”