UNLV gets commitment from juco guard Nick Fleming

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019 | 11:33 a.m.

UNLV added to its already-sizable incoming Class of 2020 on Thursday, as junior college prospect Nick Fleming became the latest to commit to the Rebels.

Fleming, a 6-foot point guard at Highland CC in Illinois, made the announcement via his Twitter account:

As a freshman at Marshalltown CC last year, Fleming averaged 10.6 points and 2.7 assists per game. His reputation is as a defensive-minded guard who can hound opposing ball-handlers at the point of attack.

Fleming said UNLV began recruiting him about a month ago when assistant coach DeMarlo Slocum attended a practice at Highland. Since then, Fleming has been in contact with Slocum, assistant coach Tim Buckley and head coach T.J. Otzelberger.

“It all happened so fast,” Fleming said. “When I first saw coach Slocum, I didn’t think he was here to watch me. Our coaches do a good job of not telling us so we can keep our composure during practice. Then coach Tim [Buckley] came out here and they told me T.J. was going to call me.

“Once I got that ring,” he continued, “I was jumping for joy, obviously.”

Fleming said he was also drawing interest from South Dakota State and UMass, but he decided to commit early to UNLV despite never having set foot on the campus or in the city of Las Vegas.

UNLV now has five players committed in the 2020 class, with Fleming joining guards Nick Blake, Donavan Yap and Isaac Lindsey and big man Jhaylon Martinez. The Rebels are also heavily recruiting 4-star forward Mwani Wilkinson.

Fleming will play his sophomore season at Highland, then join UNLV for the 2020-21 season with two years of eligibility remaining.

Last year nearly half of Fleming's shots came from 3-point range, where he connected on 30.5 percent (40-of-131). He shot 80.6 percent from the free-throw line.

According to Fleming, Otzelberger wants him to fill a specific role at UNLV.

“Coach T.J. envisions me coming in and being the leader,” Fleming said. “He wants me to come in, defend at a high level and fit the role and help us play as a team.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.