April 30, 2003
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech basketball player Ed Nelson has requested and been granted a release to investigate a possible transfer to another Division I institution, Yellow Jackets’ head coach Paul Hewitt announced Wednesday.
Nelson, a 6-8, 250-pound forward from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has not closed the door to returning to Tech next season. The 2002 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year has played two seasons at Tech, and helped the Yellow Jackets reach the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament this past season.
“I have enjoyed my two years at Tech and the opportunity to play for Coach Hewitt and his staff and with very good teammates,” said Nelson. “But at this time I feel I need to look into some other options for completing my college career.”
Nelson, who provided the Jackets with a hard-nosed, blue-collar presence in the paint, has played in 62 games and started 40 in two seasons, averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. In the 2002-03 season, he averaged 8.1 points and ranked eighth in the ACC in rebound average (6.5 per game). His biggest improvement in 2003 came at the free throw line, where he finished the season at 70.5 percent after shooting 56.6 percent from the stripe as a freshman. He scored a career-high 22 points against Duke on Feb. 26.
“Ed has some options he feels like he needs to investigate, and I’ve granted him a limited release,” said Hewitt. “Ed has been an important part of our program for two years. We have worked very hard together to get him to this point in his college career, both academically and athletically, and I hope we can finish what we’ve started.”
