Big man Matt Nicholson is Northwestern's first 2020 commitment

Matt Nicholson had a pretty good idea that he'd wind up a Wildcat back in August, when he took an official visit to Northwestern. But the three-star 2020 big man wanted to visit one more time to "make sure I had the same felling and everything."

So the 6-foot-11 center from Clarkston (Mich.) returned to Northwestern on Saturday, when he met with coaches and went to the Wildcats' football game against Michigan State. Nicholson said he got that same feeling again, so he decided to pull the trigger and commit to Northwestern.

"I kinda knew going into (the visit) that I liked it and I could see myself there after my first visit," he said via text message. "(I) went back to the football game/visit and it just felt like it was the right fit, so I said why wait when you can do it now?"

And that's exactly what he did to become the first member of head coach Chris Collins' 2020 recruiting class. The No. 39 center in the nation, Nicholson chose the Wildcats over offers from Creighton, Xavier and seven other smaller programs.

Nicholson said that what stands out the most about Northwestern to him is how tight the players and coaches are.

"(It's the) relationship of the coaches and players that makes it feel like a family and is welcoming," he said, "along with the vision Coach Collins has for me and the team."

That vision includes Nicholson making contributions in "transition and post play and pick and pop/roll." Collins also sees Nicholson as a rim protector on the defensive end.

Rivals' basketball recruiting expert Cory Evans called Nicholson "a sturdy pickup in the frontcourt." He said, "(He) emerged this summer as an efficient 12-foot and in scorer. Solid rebounder, too."

Nicholson averaged 13.6 points, 12.6 rebounds and 5.2 blocks per game for Clarkston last season in his first season as a starter. He spent his sophomore season playing behind a pair of Big Ten big men in 6-foot-9 Taylor Currie (Wisconsin) and 6-foot-8 Thomas Kithier (Michigan State).

Colleges started taking notice of Nicholson this spring, when he had a strong evaluation period with The Family, one of the most prestigious AAU programs in Michigan. Creighton was the first school to offer Nicholson, on April 30, and Northwestern followed suit on June 24.

Northwestern has a history with The Family program. Former Wildcats Davide Curletti and Alex Marcotullio were both The Family alums recruited by Collins' predecessor, Bill Carmody. Current Cat AJ Turner is also a The Family alum, though he signed with Boston College out of high school and then transferred to Northwestern. The Family wing Pierre Brooks, a teammate of Nicholson's, is also one of Northwestern's top recruiting targets for 2021.

With Nicholson in the fold, Northwestern is putting the full-court press on four-star lead guard Ty Berry to join him in its 2020 class. Berry has taken official visits to Northwestern and Minnesota in the last month and will likely choose between those two schools.