6-4
185 lbs
Combo guard
Freshmen
ESPN Rating
81
4 Star
Junior stats at South Kent
14 PPG
5 RPG
5 APG
South Kent School in Connecticut was kind to Seton Hall in 2015 when then star 2 guard Myles Powell committed to Kevin Willard and Seton Hall, so it was with that thought in mind that the head coach of the Pirates decided to double dip and once again recruit their star player.
That recruitment bore fruit on October 24 of last year, a month before his high school senior was about to begin when Anthony Nelson picked Seton Hall out of a top-five consisting of Dayton, West Virginia, Clemson and Minnesota. Seton Hall, Dayton and Minnesota were considered Nelson’s top three choices before he ultimately chose the Hall.
Nelson is a big lefty combo-guard who is very talented with the ball in his hands. He has terrific positional size, especially when playing the point, as well as the ability to make plays for himself and others while also posing a scoring threat at all three levels. He's very smooth off the dribble with both the quick first step to get to the paint and the size and bounce to rise up to score in the mid-range area. He also does a good job of drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. His stroke is sound, albeit not always consistent, to the arc and he's drastically improved his ability to make plays for others after averaging nearly 5 assists per game last summer in EYBL play. Defensively, he has the raw potential to defend all three perimeter positions and an extremely high steal rate, which has proven to be a good indicator of future success.*
At Seton Hall Nelson, who ironically comes from the same AAU program, the New York Lightning, which produced Seton Hall guard Jordan Walker was expected to battle for minutes with the diminutive point guard, but yesterday as reported by Jerry Carino, Walker will be leaving the team possibly opening up minutes for the combo guard before he even steps foot on the South Orange campus.
Bottom line
It's rarely an ideal situation for a freshman to be counted on so heavily to man the all important point guard position as he takes a step up in class from high school competition to the college ranks. But to date and unless Willard brings in a late addition to the team that is what the Harlem native will be facing.
As currently constructed the Pirates have only 2 players capable of running the team in Nelson and Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight, neither of whom as ever played a minute for Willard. Further exacerbated by the fact that both players are more combo guards than pure points.
Look for Nelson to struggle early as most all freshman do but his talent level is undeniable. He's a big smooth lefty combo-guard with versatile scoring tools, the ability to create for himself and others, and plenty of untapped defensive potential. But those traits probably won't manifest themselves immediately and that's where the more seasoned McKnight and possibly a future addition to the roster might help Nelson at the beginning of his college career.
One final note. A week after Nelson committed to the Hall his good friend Jared Rhoden from Our Savior Lutheran in the city and fellow NY Lighting teammate did the same with Nelson helping his future coach by communicating with Rhoden every day prior to his final decision.
Chalk up the first of many assists from the big guard from the city.
Comments
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
*ESPN profile
185 lbs
Combo guard
Freshmen
ESPN Rating
81
4 Star
Junior stats at South Kent
14 PPG
5 RPG
5 APG
South Kent School in Connecticut was kind to Seton Hall in 2015 when then star 2 guard Myles Powell committed to Kevin Willard and Seton Hall, so it was with that thought in mind that the head coach of the Pirates decided to double dip and once again recruit their star player.
That recruitment bore fruit on October 24 of last year, a month before his high school senior was about to begin when Anthony Nelson picked Seton Hall out of a top-five consisting of Dayton, West Virginia, Clemson and Minnesota. Seton Hall, Dayton and Minnesota were considered Nelson’s top three choices before he ultimately chose the Hall.
Nelson is a big lefty combo-guard who is very talented with the ball in his hands. He has terrific positional size, especially when playing the point, as well as the ability to make plays for himself and others while also posing a scoring threat at all three levels. He's very smooth off the dribble with both the quick first step to get to the paint and the size and bounce to rise up to score in the mid-range area. He also does a good job of drawing contact and getting to the free-throw line. His stroke is sound, albeit not always consistent, to the arc and he's drastically improved his ability to make plays for others after averaging nearly 5 assists per game last summer in EYBL play. Defensively, he has the raw potential to defend all three perimeter positions and an extremely high steal rate, which has proven to be a good indicator of future success.*
At Seton Hall Nelson, who ironically comes from the same AAU program, the New York Lightning, which produced Seton Hall guard Jordan Walker was expected to battle for minutes with the diminutive point guard, but yesterday as reported by Jerry Carino, Walker will be leaving the team possibly opening up minutes for the combo guard before he even steps foot on the South Orange campus.
Bottom line
It's rarely an ideal situation for a freshman to be counted on so heavily to man the all important point guard position as he takes a step up in class from high school competition to the college ranks. But to date and unless Willard brings in a late addition to the team that is what the Harlem native will be facing.
As currently constructed the Pirates have only 2 players capable of running the team in Nelson and Sacred Heart transfer Quincy McKnight, neither of whom as ever played a minute for Willard. Further exacerbated by the fact that both players are more combo guards than pure points.
Look for Nelson to struggle early as most all freshman do but his talent level is undeniable. He's a big smooth lefty combo-guard with versatile scoring tools, the ability to create for himself and others, and plenty of untapped defensive potential. But those traits probably won't manifest themselves immediately and that's where the more seasoned McKnight and possibly a future addition to the roster might help Nelson at the beginning of his college career.
One final note. A week after Nelson committed to the Hall his good friend Jared Rhoden from Our Savior Lutheran in the city and fellow NY Lighting teammate did the same with Nelson helping his future coach by communicating with Rhoden every day prior to his final decision.
Chalk up the first of many assists from the big guard from the city.
Comments
https://setonhall.rivals.com/
*ESPN profile
