Jameer Nelson
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Nelson began his play at Saint Joseph's in the 2000-2001 season, where he became one of the better passing point guards in College Basketball. He had a breakout junior season in 2002-2003, where he averaged 19.7 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, and 4.7 assists per game. He declared for the NBA Draft in 2003, but remained for his senior season because he wanted to improve his draft status.
Jameer Nelson became arguably the most publicized player during his senior season in 2003-2004 as he led the Saint Joseph's Hawks to an undefeated 27-0 regular season record. They later on advanced to the Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament, finishing with a 30-2 record, the best in the University's history. Nelson averaged 20.6 ppg, 5.3 apg, and 2.9 steals per game. He left the Hawks as the best player in the program's history, as its all time leader in scoring (2094 points), assists (714), and steals (256). Nelson's number was retired by the University on April 23, 2004, during Saint Joseph's last regular season game against St. Bonaventure University.
Because of his extraordinary accomplishments as a senior, Nelson won the 2004 Wooden Award, the 2004 Naismith Award, the Rupp Trophy, and many more accolades, despite some criticism that Emeka Okafor, a 3-year senior from the University of Connecticut, deserved them more.
Nelson was picked 20th in the 2004 NBA Draft to the Denver Nuggets, and was subsequently traded to the Orlando Magic for their 2005 NBA Draft 1st round pick. Though many speculated he would be within the top 10 picks, he fell to number 20, and the Magic, eager for a point guard, acquired Nelson.
Nelson started the NBA season off slowly, coming off the bench as a backup to point guard Steve Francis. However, later in the season he gained additional minutes and became a steady backup, consistently providing a well-rounded game. Despite his size, Nelson could easily score, rebound, and dish out assists. Later in the season, Nelson became the starting point guard (Francis was moved to starting shooting guard). Nelson improved the Magic's overall ball-handling, reducing turnovers, and played efficiently and consistently. He kept his starting position for the remainder of the position, with a exception of a few games under new interim head coach Chris Jent. At the end of the season, Nelson was selected to the All-NBA Rookie second team. Nelson remains a critical building block of the Magic as they try to rebuild.
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