Preface:
I'm 6'8", was a decent basketball player. Had several jucos offering me, couple of DIII and D2 schools. But, I wanted to play at Bama.
Most of my offers were not of my HS coach's doing. He wouldn't give my game film out to anybody because his buddy coached a nearby Juco and only wanted me going there. I had the famous Coach Clem at Walker college (then part of UAB) call me to come to a shoot around after hearing about me, but didn't get any game tape. How sad is that? Coach wanted to send our average point guard along with me, like he thought the kid deserved a look. Honestly, my PG was a good dude, pretty good HS player. But his size and work ethic wasn't going to take him to the next level. It is what it is. Coach Clem asked us to go to lunch after the shoot around, pulled me aside, and offered me on the spot.
I had a former championship-winning coach in town that saw how I was being done, and volunteered to be my private trainer. We did some WORK. Learned so much from that man. When he'd retired from teaching/coaching about 5 years before I met him, he went to work as a night shift supervisor at the local factory. On week nights that he was scheduled to work, he'd have his wife with their camcorder recording my games since my coach wouldn't cough up game tape.
I went to UA's basketball camp in summer of 94. A local attorney that didn't care for my coach saw my potential and knew that I was underutilized sponsored me (single mom, deadbeat dad so I couldn't afford it myself), without my coach really knowing about it until the day before I left. Several blue chip players from around the country were there. They had a dunk contest, and I made it to the finals. The well-repped dunk I was saving for last was: back to the basket at the FT stripe, bounce the ball thru my legs and off the backboard, turn and take off midway in the paint, 180, catch, pump, reverse flush. Repped it hundreds of times. I doinked this attempt out the back of the rim
. Lost the dunk contest by 1 dunk.
Now, I could shoot the mid-range jumper, and could handle the ball decently well for (by HS standards) a "big man". I was pretty much a swing forward with ny skillset. But my HS coach wanted me in the paint, grabbing boards. I averaged 25/15 a game, and 40% of my point production was offensive put-backs. We ran an iso spread in clock-killing situations, and I was in the corner on these plays. The first time my guy was playing me soft or collapsed to help on the driving PG that kicked to me toward the end of the clock, I pulled up a 16-footer and yanked the nets off the rim . Coach yelled "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DARREN?" I held up a "2" and shrugged. He EVENTUALLY would get the message and designed a high-low play where I started on the low post, and my 4 on the opposite Hugh elbow would set me a pick and I'd flash to the opposite elbow and shoot the 15-footer. It was always unstoppable cash money, but we only ran that play 3-4x a game.
Back to the UA camp: after bodying up a 6'10" blue chip kid from up north, grabbing boards, blocking shots, AND shooting the mid-range with success, Coach Hobbs pulled me aside, and asked "Who are you, and where are you from?" When I told him that I was an hour and a half away from Tuscaloosa, he then asked "WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD ABOUT YOU?" He reluctantly admitted that their limited 95 class was already full because of probation, but wantes me to walk-on for a year.
Again, because we weren't that well off, I pondered how I could afford my first year at UA without going into loan debt. I was really close to signing with Coach Clem at Walker because it was getting late in my senior year and I needed to make a decision. Like an answered prayer, Coach Cornelius at Shelton called me up in Spring of 95 (my senior year). Him being a former Wimp assistant right there at the Juco in Tuscaloosa, I was immediately intrigued. He'd gotten the independent game tape from my trainer, and invited me to a shoot around. There was this one play where I grabbed a defensive board, kicked it out to my PG and filled a break lane. I was in the middle lane of a 3-on-2, and the PG drove and laid it up. I was already in the air by the time his layup kissed off the front of the rim, so I flushed the putback home over Shelton's starting center. My mom said that was the exact moment that Coach looked at her and said "let's go to dinner after this". Offered me on the spot.
The goal was to play a season or 2 at Shelton, then transfer to UA. That was derailed when a rare heart disorder was discovered and I didn't want to roll the dice on possibly falling dead in the court.
All that to say that I see a smidge of myself in Nelson. Admittedly, I don't watch nearly as much basketball as I used to. Oddly enough (given my basketball history), I've always loved football more. I was always a little bigger for my age, and was a both-ways DE/TE at my smaller (then) 3A school, and averaged 2 sacks/4 TFL a game. By my 8th grade year, I'd already moved up to JV and dressed on the varsity squad for the last few games when the JV season was over. But when I hit a growth spurt and got really lanky, my mom was worried that football was too risky and strongly implored me to stick with just basketball.
I just work too much during the week, so I can't keep up with basketball like I'd prefer. I'd try to skim a few regular season games if I had a brief moment, but tried to pay a little more attention towards postseason play. I didn't even know who Grant Nelson was until we were making an NCCA run last year. I immediately was drawn to his style of play. The kid is just as blue-collar as they come. Will fill a role and don't mind single-digit scoring games if it means a W, but will damn sure step up and produce when called upon.
Case in point: this past weekend. Kid just balled out when Sears was struggling to shake tight D.
My absolute FAVORITE play from Saturday:
Announcer referred to it as a mocking "war eagle", but we all know the history of the Crimson Crane.
There's a clip I saw on Facebook Reels of the Auburn radio guys bitching and moaning about Grant's "pose" at the end of that play, but I can't find it
.
But, I DID find someone's photoshop of this
Somebody please make this a reality and TAKE MY MONEY. Hell, I may print and frame it myself.
I just love the way this kid plays. Reminds me a little of myself. Admittedly, his thin porn stache has me slightly jelly. I couldn't grow decent facial hair until well into my mid-20s
.
I'm 6'8", was a decent basketball player. Had several jucos offering me, couple of DIII and D2 schools. But, I wanted to play at Bama.
Most of my offers were not of my HS coach's doing. He wouldn't give my game film out to anybody because his buddy coached a nearby Juco and only wanted me going there. I had the famous Coach Clem at Walker college (then part of UAB) call me to come to a shoot around after hearing about me, but didn't get any game tape. How sad is that? Coach wanted to send our average point guard along with me, like he thought the kid deserved a look. Honestly, my PG was a good dude, pretty good HS player. But his size and work ethic wasn't going to take him to the next level. It is what it is. Coach Clem asked us to go to lunch after the shoot around, pulled me aside, and offered me on the spot.
I had a former championship-winning coach in town that saw how I was being done, and volunteered to be my private trainer. We did some WORK. Learned so much from that man. When he'd retired from teaching/coaching about 5 years before I met him, he went to work as a night shift supervisor at the local factory. On week nights that he was scheduled to work, he'd have his wife with their camcorder recording my games since my coach wouldn't cough up game tape.
I went to UA's basketball camp in summer of 94. A local attorney that didn't care for my coach saw my potential and knew that I was underutilized sponsored me (single mom, deadbeat dad so I couldn't afford it myself), without my coach really knowing about it until the day before I left. Several blue chip players from around the country were there. They had a dunk contest, and I made it to the finals. The well-repped dunk I was saving for last was: back to the basket at the FT stripe, bounce the ball thru my legs and off the backboard, turn and take off midway in the paint, 180, catch, pump, reverse flush. Repped it hundreds of times. I doinked this attempt out the back of the rim
. Lost the dunk contest by 1 dunk.Now, I could shoot the mid-range jumper, and could handle the ball decently well for (by HS standards) a "big man". I was pretty much a swing forward with ny skillset. But my HS coach wanted me in the paint, grabbing boards. I averaged 25/15 a game, and 40% of my point production was offensive put-backs. We ran an iso spread in clock-killing situations, and I was in the corner on these plays. The first time my guy was playing me soft or collapsed to help on the driving PG that kicked to me toward the end of the clock, I pulled up a 16-footer and yanked the nets off the rim . Coach yelled "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, DARREN?" I held up a "2" and shrugged. He EVENTUALLY would get the message and designed a high-low play where I started on the low post, and my 4 on the opposite Hugh elbow would set me a pick and I'd flash to the opposite elbow and shoot the 15-footer. It was always unstoppable cash money, but we only ran that play 3-4x a game.
Back to the UA camp: after bodying up a 6'10" blue chip kid from up north, grabbing boards, blocking shots, AND shooting the mid-range with success, Coach Hobbs pulled me aside, and asked "Who are you, and where are you from?" When I told him that I was an hour and a half away from Tuscaloosa, he then asked "WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD ABOUT YOU?" He reluctantly admitted that their limited 95 class was already full because of probation, but wantes me to walk-on for a year.
Again, because we weren't that well off, I pondered how I could afford my first year at UA without going into loan debt. I was really close to signing with Coach Clem at Walker because it was getting late in my senior year and I needed to make a decision. Like an answered prayer, Coach Cornelius at Shelton called me up in Spring of 95 (my senior year). Him being a former Wimp assistant right there at the Juco in Tuscaloosa, I was immediately intrigued. He'd gotten the independent game tape from my trainer, and invited me to a shoot around. There was this one play where I grabbed a defensive board, kicked it out to my PG and filled a break lane. I was in the middle lane of a 3-on-2, and the PG drove and laid it up. I was already in the air by the time his layup kissed off the front of the rim, so I flushed the putback home over Shelton's starting center. My mom said that was the exact moment that Coach looked at her and said "let's go to dinner after this". Offered me on the spot.
The goal was to play a season or 2 at Shelton, then transfer to UA. That was derailed when a rare heart disorder was discovered and I didn't want to roll the dice on possibly falling dead in the court.
All that to say that I see a smidge of myself in Nelson. Admittedly, I don't watch nearly as much basketball as I used to. Oddly enough (given my basketball history), I've always loved football more. I was always a little bigger for my age, and was a both-ways DE/TE at my smaller (then) 3A school, and averaged 2 sacks/4 TFL a game. By my 8th grade year, I'd already moved up to JV and dressed on the varsity squad for the last few games when the JV season was over. But when I hit a growth spurt and got really lanky, my mom was worried that football was too risky and strongly implored me to stick with just basketball.
I just work too much during the week, so I can't keep up with basketball like I'd prefer. I'd try to skim a few regular season games if I had a brief moment, but tried to pay a little more attention towards postseason play. I didn't even know who Grant Nelson was until we were making an NCCA run last year. I immediately was drawn to his style of play. The kid is just as blue-collar as they come. Will fill a role and don't mind single-digit scoring games if it means a W, but will damn sure step up and produce when called upon.
Case in point: this past weekend. Kid just balled out when Sears was struggling to shake tight D.
My absolute FAVORITE play from Saturday:
Announcer referred to it as a mocking "war eagle", but we all know the history of the Crimson Crane.
There's a clip I saw on Facebook Reels of the Auburn radio guys bitching and moaning about Grant's "pose" at the end of that play, but I can't find it
.But, I DID find someone's photoshop of this
Somebody please make this a reality and TAKE MY MONEY. Hell, I may print and frame it myself.
I just love the way this kid plays. Reminds me a little of myself. Admittedly, his thin porn stache has me slightly jelly. I couldn't grow decent facial hair until well into my mid-20s
.
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