Shelbyville wrapped up an excellent regular season on Thursday night with an 84-69 win over Batesville. Nicholson had a big senior night performance scoring a game-high 25 points for the Golden Bears. The 6’4″ unsigned senior forward has been a big part of their 19-5 record. Shelbyville has the bye in Sectional 28 and is likely the favorite on paper in what will be a very competitive bracket.

One of the top under-the-radar prospects that we are going to talk about to kick us off here is senior wing Mar Nicholson Mar Nicholson 6'5" | SF Shelbyville | 2026 State IN from Shelbyville HS. Nicholson has always been a player with great upside during his high school career and that came true this season. He is averaging 14.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists all while shooting 59% from the field. He is one of the more productive wings that will find in the in-state senior class being a guy that makes plays both on and off the ball.

We watched Nicholson finish with 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in Shelbyville’s 62-38 win over New Castle on Friday. Then, the Golden Bears moved to 5-0 to begin the season on Tuesday night with an impressive win over Greenwood. The 6’4″ versatile senior forward scored 18 points in that contest. Shelbyville is making a strong push to be considered in the Class 3A Top 10.

This 6’4″ wing will cap off an excellent career at Shelbyville High School this season. He averaged 14.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season utilizing his impressive size and athleticism to create matchup problems. Nicholson handles the ball well enough to go coast-to-coast on the break and create his own scoring opportunities in the half court as a driver. There is some positional versatility to move up to a forward spot as needed at the next level as well.

Nicholson is a nice playmaking wing. He can guard anyone on the court and is one of t he best passing BIGs that you will see. Mar can also knockdown mid-range jump shots at a high level.

The 6-foot-5 wing out of Shelbyville has always had a good amount of upside as a player and this summer may be the time that upside finally blossoms. He has been rocking with Grand Park Premier White 17u this spring and continued his strong play from his junior season for Shelbyville. He is a wing with great flow to his game and has a high ability to make shots around the rim with ease. He is coming off a 14.5 points, 5.3 rebounds per game season and coming into the summer, he is expected to produce at an even higher rate. A very interesting prospect to watch in June.

I was impressed by the Grand Park Premier squad that got a Friday evening victory where Nicholson showed off his fluid athleticism and ability to run the floor and beat other forwards to the rim. With his size advantage, Nicholson posted up and got a couple easy buckets off hook shots and layups. I also was impressed with the passing ability of Nicholson out of the post, beating the defense when they threw double-teams his way. With crisp ball movement, Grand Park Premier could execute set plays and Nicholson scored off a couple BLOB sets.

A Top 60 prospect in our Prep Hoops Indiana Class of 2026 Rankings, Nicholson was one of two standout sophomores at Shelbyville High School last season. He finished second on the team averaging 13.4 points while leading the Golden Bears with 5.2 rebounds per game. The versatile 6’4″ wing is a very good ball handler showcasing the ability to breakdown defenders on the perimeter and attack the rim downhill. He is a great finisher around the basket using his size and athleticism. Intriguing prospect to keep an eye on this winter.