Tubby Smith has done it again for the second time in just seven days.
David Nickelberry, a 6-7, 205-pound small forward from Windermere, Florida, announced Monday afternoon via his Twitter page that he had officially committed to play for the Tigers beginning in the 2017-18 season.
“I couldn’t be more thankful and blessed to have this opportunity to play at the next level which is college basketball,” Nickelberry wrote on Twitter. “This was very hard for me but with all that being said I will like to commit and extend my academic and basketball career at the University of Memphis with Coach Tubby Smith and his wonderful staff! GO TIGERS!”
Smith and his staff didn’t have a single commit for the class of 2017, who can sign their national letters of intent beginning on November 9, eight days ago, but now with Nickelberry’s commitment, along with Jamal Johnson pledging his commitment to the Tigers on Sept. 12, the Tigers have two commits and currently have the 30th ranked recruiting class in the nation and second in the American Athletic Conference, according to 247Sports composite rankings.
Nickelberry, a three-star prospect and the nation’s 166th best prospect according to 247Sports, held 14 offers including Texas, Florida and USC.
Memphis hosted Nickelberry on an official visit this past weekend – his first, and as of right now, only scheduled visit.
This weekend, the Tigers will host Rayshaun Hammonds, a 6-7, 190-pound forward from Norcross, Georgia, who’s ranked as a four-star and the 50th best prospect in the country. If Hammonds were to commit this weekend, that would boost Memphis’ team rank from 30th to tenth, putting them just behind Arkansas and just ahead of Arizona, according to the 247Sports class calculator which allows users to see where teams would be ranked should a player commit to a school.
