Gilbert High School's rapidly developing 6-f00t-7, 205-pound junior forward Spencer Nicolds has developed into a serious recruiting target for college programs, as a result of his progress as a player throughout the spring evaluation period. Now garnering attention from numerous division-I programs, Nicolds has made a significant jump in his ability to play the game in a short period of time.
During the 2012-2013 high school basketball season, Nicolds was a nice contributor to a very good basketball team. Coach by terrific head coach Jay Caserio, the Tigers went throughout last basketball season among the elite teams in the state, and as one of the favorites to win last year's Division-I's state championship. The team would finish with a 24-8 overall record on the season, before falling to a talented Pinnacle High School program in the Division-I State Playoffs.
Nicolds would average 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per/game last season on a very well-balanced team - one of the most well-balanced teams in the state. Next season, look for Nicolds to improve those numbers a great deal as he matures to become a senior prospect with loads of potential and an excellent physical frame.
Nicolds now has the body and size to become a serious division-I prospect. Since the end to the high school season, this young man has grown physically a great deal and looks to have a unique skillset. Nicolds is rapidly growing and could get to 6-foot-9 in heigth before the end to his high school career. He has excellent physical strength and nice length to his frame, which allows him to play inside and out as a player.
In the post, Nicolds is a long and talented prospect that can finesse or overpower smaller post players. Still raw offensively, Nicolds is still developing a go to low post move but he can score in a variety of ways. As he continues to gain much more confidence as a player over the next 12 months, he will see his overall approach to the game of basketball improve nicely. He is an active rebounder that is capable of rebounding outside of his area, and has good overall quickness to the ball for his size. He has good lift off the floor and is a very good finisher around the basket, which should only continue to improve as well with added maturity. Nicolds also runs the floor very well for his size and is capable of beating most post players up the floor.
Nicolds is also able to play on the perimeter very well, since before his latest growth spurt, Nicolds primarily saw his time on the wing - making him very skilled overall as a prospect. Nicolds is a capable ball handler that likes to put the basketball on the floor in an attempt to get to the basket and finish. He does not play with the basketball much in the open floor. He is a solid shooter with range on his shot, although he is still at his best from mid-range distance on the floor. He will need to continue to develop his consistency on his jump shot in the future to reach his full potential as a player.
Currently, Nicolds is being recruited by such college programs as Utah, Northwestern and Sacramento State. A major improvement in his college recruitment from the high school season.
Nicolds played this spring evaluation period with his club program, Passion 4 Ball-Magic. The team played very well this spring and competed hard in every game this spring. Coached by former Arizona State Sun Devil Justin Allen, the program works hard on and off the floor and instills confidence in their players through hard work and dedication to the game.
Nicolds looks to be developing nicely into another serious recruiting target in Arizona's already loaded 2014 class - making the class even stronger.
Arizona Preps will continue to follow the recruitment and progress as a player of Nicolds throughout the remainder of the spring and summer - bringing you any updates as they begin to develop.
