Edward Richard Nelson (born March 18, 1982) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and former ACC Rookie of the Year. A 2004 NCAA Champion with Connecticut, he retired from professional basketball in 2015.

High school

Nelson was rated one of the top 25 high school basketball players in America by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' and was named Florida Player of the Year by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

''. He averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior and led

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...

to the Class 5A state title, with a 29-3 record. He was named state Player of the Year for Class 6A-5A-4A by the ''

Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Broward County, and ...

'' and was Most Valuable Player of the state tournament, including 29 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinal game. He was named to the first-team all-county by the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' and scored a season-high 39 points on two occasions. He was one of 14 players selected for the Capital Classic all-star game at the

MCI Center Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Chinatown section of the larger Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. The arena was opened on D ...

, in Washington, D.C. Nelson averaged 21.5 points and 9.3 rebounds as a junior, leading his team to a 30-4 record and a berth in the 5A state championship game. He also reached the state title game as a sophomore, when he helped St. Thomas Aquinas to a 23-9 record while averaging 12.4 points, eight rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. The team was coached by Steve Strand.

College career

Nelson began his

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

career as a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

for

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

in 2001. He won the ACC's Rookie of the Year award in 2002. After two years, he transferred to the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

to be closer to his family.

''Sports Illustrated'' cover

In 2005, Nelson appeared on the cover of ''

''.

Professional career

In the summer 2007, Nelson had

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

workouts with

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

New Orleans Hornets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

and

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

. In 2009, he played for

Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca Club Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca is an Argentine sports club based in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its basketball team, that currently played in the main levels of Argentina, including Campeonato Argentino an ...

in the

Liga Nacional de Básquet Liga (Spanish and Portuguese: ''League'') or LIGA may refer to: Sports Basketball * Liga ACB, men's professional basketball league in Spain * Liga Femenina de Baloncesto, women's professional basketball league in Spain Football Latin Amer ...

(

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

first division), where he was the teammate of former NBA

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

Pepe Sánchez. Nelson was the leading scorer of the

in the 2008–09 season, averaging 20.1 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game. He played one season for Regatas, one for

Quilmes de Mar del Plata Club Atlético Quilmes (mostly known as Quilmes de Mar del Plata) is a sports club based in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Although other sports are practised in the club, Quilmes is mostly known for its basketball team, which c ...

, and one more in

Bahía Basket Bahía Basket is a professional Argentina, Argentine basketball team based in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires Province. The club plays in the Liga Nacional de Básquet (LNB), the top division of the Argentine league system as a successor of Estudiant ...

, before becoming a player of Gimnasia Indalo.

Television

Nelson appeared on the

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

hit show ''

Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'' is an American sports news and analysis program that was broadcast by ESPN from 1990 to 2022. The series featured segments with discussions and investigative journalism surrounding prominent headlines and topics within spor ...

''. It was a short documentary about his transition from a college basketball star to an NFL tight end. Nelson was discovered and signed by top NFL agent Joe Linta. Over 15 NFL scouts came to watch the 6'8 255 pound Nelson do a private workout with

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

tight ends coach

Rob Chudzinski Robert Matthew Chudzinski (born May 12, 1968) is an American American football, football coach who is currently the senior offensive analyst for the Boston College Eagles football, Boston College Eagles. Chudzinski was the offensive coordinator ...

on the UConn Campus. Nelson showcased good speed and catching ability, and surprised most scouts when he showcased a 34-inch vertical jump. On Draft Day 2006 Ed Nelson signed with the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

References

External links

Finnish League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Ed 1982 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball players Basketball players from Massachusetts Centers (basketball) Estudiantes de Bahía Blanca basketball players Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's basketball players Power forwards UConn Huskies men's basketball players St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Florida) alumni