Courtney Nelson to Play Basketball at Rutgers
Jul 05 | Men's Basketball
PISCATAWAY, NJ - Former Bloomfield Tech All-State guard Courtney Nelson has transferred to Rutgers University from the University of Richmond, Rutgers head coach Gary Waters announced today.
Nelson will compete in practice for the Scarlet Knights in 2005-06 and will sit out the season as per NCAA transfer rules. He will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in the 2006-07 season.
The 6-1, 180-pound Nelson was the Star-Ledger 2004 New Jersey Player of the Year and a first-team All-State selection by the Associated Press, following a season where he averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game in leading Bloomfield Tech to a 25-8 record and a berth in the NSIAA Tournament of Champions final. No group I school had ever reached the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions before Nelson led Bloomfield Tech to the semifinals in 2003 and to the finals in 2004. He hit a driving, coast-to-coast game-winning layup in the 2003 Group I finals as Bloomfield Tech defeated Paulsboro 61-59. He also scored 29 points in the 2004 NSIAA semifinal victory over St. Augustine Prep.
As a freshman at Richmond, the Newark native averaged 6.1 points and 2.0 assists per game while playing 21.6 minutes per game. As was the case in his high school career, Nelson played his best vs. the best, scoring a career-high 14 points at Arizona on 5-for-8 shooting and 3-for-4 shooting from three-point range. He tallied 10 points at Wake Forest, shooting 3-of-5 from three-point range. On the season, Nelson scored in double figures in eight games as a freshman, shooting .412 from the field and .333 from three-point range.
'We are excited that Courtney has decided to return home and continue his education and play basketball here at Rutgers,' Waters said. 'Courtney is a talented, intelligent and instinctive player who can score, pass and defend. I think he will benefit greatly by working hard in the classroom, on the practice floor and in the weight room this coming year. Courtney is a complete player and I am confident he will have an outstanding career.'
