skip navigation

Jameer Nelson Jr. continuing evolution into basketball player

12/20/2017, 11:45pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Jameer Nelson Jr. (above) is starting to realize some of his potential on the basketball court. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
--

As Jameer Nelson Jr. makes the transition from multi-sport athlete to basketball player, the biggest key, he said, is to stay aggressive and locked in at all times. At any time, any possession, he can come up with a key play. Relax and let up for a moment, and the opportunity might pass.

So when he stood on the wing in the final minute of the Haverford School’s game at St. Joe’s Prep on Wednesday afternoon, he didn’t relax and watch as Fords teammate Kharon Randolph dribbled his way through the Hawks’ defense. He stayed aggressive, cutting to the hoop, receiving the feed from Randolph and finishing strong at the rim.

It wasn’t the game-winning bucket, just a useful two points for the Haverford School to help close out a 61-53 road win and deal St. Joe’s Prep its first loss of the season. But it was certainly a telling moment for the junior guard with the famous name, as he continues his push towards proving he can play hoops at the next level.

Nelson finished with 16 points in the win, including 13 in the second half. He also had four rebounds, as well as one each in the assist, steal and block columns.

“I think my responsibility as a scorer has gone [up], my level of skill has gone up, so I think my role has gotten bigger,” Nelson said. “Going from last season just playing, and (becoming) a basketball player, it’s just playing, knowing the game, knowing situations and all that stuff.”

“Over the last three years, I’ve seen him grow, from having the genes to him turning into a complete basketball player and knowing how to play the game,” said Randolph, a USciences-bound senior guard and one of the Fords’ team captains.

Oh yes, the genes are certainly there.

Nelson’s dad is one of the most famous ballplayers to ever come out of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Currently in his 14th season in the NBA, where he made an All-Star team in 2009, Jameer Nelson Sr. was named the 2003-4 NCAA Division I Player of the Year after his senior season at Saint Joseph’s, when he led the Hawks into the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament after an undefeated regular season.

But the younger Nelson wasn’t a high-level hoops prospect in middle school, playing both basketball and baseball all the way up through ninth grade. And though he showed flashes of his hoops potential in his underclassman years at Haverford, there was plenty of inconsistent play and quiet stretches.

Nelson finally started focusing on basketball this year, playing AAU basketball for the first time in the summer with the Jersey Shore Warriors’ 16U squad, where he was often in the starting lineup and always playing significant minutes for a long-running summer program known for its team-oriented style of play.

“I think they taught me a lot and I appreciated that, and I just took in everything they told me,” Nelson said. “I never really needed to know situations when I was younger, but now it’s become a big part of the game.”

Now, basketball is a serious part of Nelson Jr.’s life. He’s certainly on the Division I radar, with several low-to-mid-major programs sniffing around. At perhaps a shade under six feet tall, he’s got an athletic frame -- not as muscular as his father was during his St. Joe’s days, but just as bouncy, which he showed blocking a 3-point shot out-of-bounds in Wednesday’s win.

Nelson Jr. spent the summer working out with his dad, who's currently with the New Orelans Pelicans, as well as his second cousin, Samford guard Josh Sharkey.

“That really helped me a lot because it was great to learn from guys I want to be like," he said, "and it just helps to know I can do what they have to do.”

After averaging 9.3 ppg as a sophomore, Nelson Jr. is now averaging 11.3 ppg through the first eight games of this season for the Haverford School (6-2), which is the favorite to win an Inter-Ac championship for the first time since 1999.

“I think a lot of the growth is maturity and some strength and physicality, he’s starting to figure out what he can and can’t do,” Fords coach Bernie Rogers said. “I always tell him, he does things that nobody in the gym can do, now we’ve got to make sure [he makes] the plays everybody can do.

“He’s got all the tools, now it’s just playing more and being in more situations to respond.”

In a losing effort, Hawks (6-1) were led by Darius Kinnel, who had 21 points, including the final 11 for his team as he single-handedly kept Prep in the game down the stretch with a pair of 3-point plays and a couple other tough buckets.

Randolph (20 points) had several responses of his own, including a coast-to-coast layup that saw him evade the entire St. Joe’s Prep defense with 90 seconds to play. As a team, the Fords were 10-of-12 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, which began with them holding a 47-36 lead.

Nelson’s fellow junior starters also did plenty in the win: 6-5 wing Christian Ray added nine points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists; point guard Gavin Burke had eight points, five assists and four juniors.

“We knew they were undefeated, so it meant a lot more,” Nelson said. “I feel like in our losses we never really played together, but when we play like that, I feel like we can beat anybody.”


HS Coverage:

Recruiting News:

Tag(s): Home  Old HS  Josh Verlin  Boys HS  St. Joe's Prep  Inter-Ac (B)  Haverford School