Gonzaga’s Nolan Hickman has strong start to 2024-25 season: ‘He’s playing with a swag’

Bulldogs senior guard led in scoring in season-opener vs. Baylor

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Even in an exhibition environment, it was worth noting the first look at the 2024-25 Gonzaga men’s basketball team featured a starting lineup without Nolan Hickman.

The 6-foot-2 Seattle native started in 71 of the team’s past 72 games leading up to the 2024-25 season and was coming off a career year in which he led the Bulldogs in 3-pointers made while putting up 14.0 points per game. Gonzaga added some talented pieces via the transfer portal over the season, though, which gave Mark Few and the coaching staff the opportunity to tinker around with different lineups and substitution patterns. 

Since the friendly against USC, Hickman has stood out from the rest of the pack. After a 19-point outing in the exhibition with Warner Pacific, he paced the Zags with 17 points and went 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, in their season-opening win over No. 8 Baylor. Amid the chaos and frenzy over the Bulldogs’ 40-minute pummeling of the Bears, Hickman led the way with one of his best performances against a high-major opponent.

“He’s playing with a swag,” said former Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison on an episode of the Perimeter podcast. “Maybe it's an overreaction … but maybe not starting him that USC game kind of woke him up. And I know it was an exhibition, but it was kind of like whoa. And then he played terrific in that second half.”

Gonzaga senior guard Nolan Hickman. / Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

“Then this last game [against Baylor] he shot that one in the second half and he stared at it … then looked at the bench like ‘it’s going in,’” Morrison said. “That's when you know a guy’s rolling.”

The Bears had no answer for Hickman, as he picked apart their zone defense with cuts along the baseline and through the soft spots at the top of the key, anywhere he could find space for himself. He helped turned defense into offense late in the first half after Khalif Battle swatted away a shot from V.J. Edgecombe, sparking a fastbreak opportunity going the other way. Hickman navigated traffic for an easy layup that extended the Bulldogs’ lead and prompted a big grin from the senior guard as he raced back to play defense. 

“His energy is infectious,” Morrison said. “He’s kind of a quiet kid, but when he's bouncing around it's like, ‘oh yeah,’ you know what I mean? When you're around somebody that's just naturally introverted and they're kind of extroverted, it’s just cool.”

Hickman also helped slow down the Bears’ talented backcourt tandem of Jeremy Roach and Jayden Nunn, who combined for 15 points on 5-of-17 from the field. Defensive intensity was a focal point for the team following the pair of exhibition games, especially after allowing 96 points to the Trojans. Hickman clearly took that message to heart ahead of the season opener.

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

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• Top plays from Gonzaga's win over Baylor

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• What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after win vs. Baylor

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