City of Basketball Love

Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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Devon Nelson never missed a practice for Bonner-Prendergast last season. He helped his teammates improve. He traveled to every away game. He sat at the end of the bench cheering his team. There was just one big missing piece the 6-foot-3, 180-pound rising senior guard had to endure—he couldn’t play.

Last December, a PIAA appeal hearing ruled Nelson ineligible his junior season, after transferring in from Upper Merion, despite the fact his family moved just a few miles away from Bonner-Prendie.

It looks like Nelson, a first-team all-Pioneer Athletic Conference selection as a sophomore, found a college destination anyway, when he committed to Millersville and Marauders’ coach Casey Stitzel on Friday, and made it public on social media on Saturday.

“I’m excited, and I’m happy because I was able to commit this early, considering I didn’t play my junior year,” said Nelson, who maintains a 3.7 GPA at Bonner-Prendie. “I had some Division I schools talking to me. I was talking to CalU of Pennsylvania, and Chestnut Hill recently. Those coaches expressed a lot of interest. I built a good relationship with those coaches, too, but I really liked Millersville. It’s not too far from home, coach Stitzel runs a great program, and I like him as a person and a coach. Millersville felt like home.”

Nelson, who said he was also receiving interest from Princeton, Bucknell, Columbia and Fairleigh Dickinson, is being projected to play point guard for the PSAC school. Last season, the Marauders reached the PSAC Final Four, where they lost to eventual PSAC champion Gannon. Millersville did qualify for the D-II NCAA Tournament, losing in the first round to West Liberty.

Having Bonner-Prendie teammate Deuce Ketner, the Friars’ 6-foot-7 all-Catholic League forward, commit to Millersville in May was also a big factor.

“It was an emotional call to coach Stitzel because times were tough last year, and I kept thinking to myself last year, ‘One day the sun has to shine,’” Nelson said. “After sitting out the whole time, watching everyone else play knowing I could be out there helping my team, you start to get scared you won’t get that chance to play college basketball with a scholarship. I’m happy Millersville is giving me the chance. Deuce was a big help. He had great things to say about Millersville. The whole Bonner community was a big plus for me. They took me in. I appreciate them for that.”

Nelson spoke to Stitzel around 3 p.m. Friday afternoon, then immediately sent a text to his mother, Christine Clark, to inform her. Nelson’s commitment is not only a relief to him, but to Bonner-Prendie coach Billy Cassidy.

“This could not have happened to a better kid and a better family,” Cassidy said. “It was tough early last November when Devon found out (he would be ineligible to play). The funny thing is when he found out, he had every kid in the school recruit him for their local CYO team. He wound up playing for St. Bernadette’s and had a great time. Devon found another avenue to play the game that he loved and kept his head up. He still practiced every day with us. He never felt sorry for himself. He played scout team for us. There were days Devon did not miss. He was there every day and was there each game to support his teammates. He’s a special kid.

“He had a really strong spring and summer. And after all the adversity he went through, he is ready to explode this season. Deuce going there helped Dev make the choice to Millersville. If you look at the circumstances of not being able to play his junior year, and being able to make this commitment early tells you how good he is. I know being able to play with Deuce was a big deal and being close to home was a factor.”

Nelson can drive, can create for his teammates, and has super athleticism.

“Millersville knows that they got a steal in Devon,” Cassidy said. “He has a huge chip on his shoulders. He will be out to prove how serious he is about playing college basketball. You also have to thank his mother. She went through everything to get him here.”        

For his part, Ketner cannot wait. He felt he and Nelson were robbed of the year the tandem were able to play together for the first time. They would often match up against each other in practice. Ketner, the son of the late Lari Ketner, the NBA and Roman Catholic star, stressed it is a relationship that they both benefitted from.

“Putting a smile on Dev’s face helped me,” Ketner said. “I can’t wait for him to get here. Other than practice, I never got a chance to really play with Devon. This season is just waiting for Dev to explode. He got a bad deal and he still had a great attitude. Dev transferred to go somewhere better and we as a team took him in and made him smile. He didn’t have to come to practice every day. That was his choice. That told us he cared about us as much we cared about him.”        

Above all, Christine Clark has peace of mind.

“Devon is hands down the toughest person I know,” Clark said. “Deuce was a big help. I’m really happy for Devon. This is something he has always looked forward to, and Millersville will give him the opportunity to play. We’ll leave the past in the past. Devon is going to a great place. This is a story with a happy ending.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.