#32 Ed Nelson

General

Provided the Yellow Jackets a blue-collar inside presence, solid defense and rebounding in the post area … Often found himself competing against taller players … After logging most of his minutes in the post as a freshman, played farther from the basket more often as a sophomore as Chris Bosh added his presence as a rebounder … Rebounding average fell only slightly, and still ranked eighth in the league … Most dramatic improvement has come at the free throw line, where he improved more than 10 percent over his freshman year … Received a release to transfer from Tech following spring semester, 2003.

2002-03

Finished out the regular season in strong fashion against Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Clemson (13.0 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 23-44 FG) ? Scored 22 points vs. Duke on Feb. 26 (9-16 FG, 4-4 FT, 9 reb.), the best game of his career ? Added 12 points (6-8 FG) and seven boards at North Carolina Mar. 1 and 11 points and six boards at Virginia Mar. 5 ? Finished the regular season with seven points and seven rebounds vs. Clemson.

Big game off the bench at Iowa with 12 points (3-9 FG, 6-7 FT) and four rebounds, two assists in Tech[apos]s 79-78 win ? Averaged 6.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg in three NIT games (25.0% FG, 90.9% FT).

Did not start the season[apos]s final six games, as coaches felt he played better off the bench ? Did not start Mar. 5 at Virginia due to a mild concussion suffered in a practice, but played 28 minutes ? Started 12 games in all during the season after starting 28 as a freshman.

Ranked eighth in the ACC in rebounding (6.5 per game) ? Had five double-figure rebound games in all, including a season-high 13 vs. North Carolina (Jan. 29) and 12 vs. Maryland (Feb. 9) ? Had 11 vs. Wake Forest (J.19) and Arkansas-Pine Bluff (N.27), 10 vs. Elon (J.22).

Averages in ACC games: 8.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 43% FG, 79.4% FT ? Averages vs. ranked teams: 8.9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 39.1% FG, 73.9% FT.

Shooting percentage (40.1) was off from 50 percent as a freshman, but shot better from early January through the end of the season (43.4 percent from Jan. 11 forward – 62-of-143) ? Was vastly improved at the line (70.5 compared to 56.6 as a freshman) ? Went 39-for-49 (79.6 percent) in his last 17 games.

Had 10 double-figure scoring games (Tech was 6-4) ? Came off the bench to score 17 points against Minnesota on Dec. 4 (his season high before Duke), hitting 8-of-18 field goal attempts, and snared eight rebounds, five on the offensive end ? He followed that with 14 points and eight rebounds against Marist, hitting 6-of-8 shots from the floor.

Had two double-doubles (12 pts./11 reb. vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 11 pts/10 reb. vs. Elon) during the season and has four for his career ? Blocked four shots against Troy State, a career high.

2001-02

The top freshman in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season, according to the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association … Was named ACC Rookie of the Year, the ninth Tech player so honored, and made the ACC all-Freshman team … Started every game but three … Steadily grew more comfortable as the season has progressed, giving the Yellow Jackets some inside scoring presence and solid defense, almost always against taller players.

Started 28 of Tech?s 31 games . . . Topped ACC freshmen in rebound average (6.9) in all games and ranked 10th overall, and also ranked fourth among the ACC?s rookies in scoring average (8.5) . . . He also ranked second among freshmen in minutes played (25.5) . . . One of two Tech players to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor (50.0).

In ACC games only, Nelson averaged 10.4 points, second among the league?s freshmen and 6.6 rebounds and made 54.2 percent of his field goal attempts, both of which were high figures for ACC rookies.

From Tech?s Jan. 10 meeting with Duke on, Nelson averaged 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in Tech?s last 16 games . . . Was consistent on the glass, recording double-digit efforts against North Carolina (11), NC State (10) and Wake Forest (14 in the ACC Tournament).

Nelson scored 17 points on Feb. 9 to lead Tech against Duke, earning him ACC Rookie of the Week honors . . . Scored a season-high 18 (6-9 FG, 6-10 FT) in the first meeting between Tech and Maryland . . . Against NC State on Feb. 20, he posted his second double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) of the year . . . Added 17 at Florida State on 8-of-10 shooting.

Had five double-figure rebounding efforts with a high of 14 versus Penn, matched against Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament . . . Had 13 against Florida A&M and 11 in the second meeting with North Carolina . . . Had eight or nine rebounds on seven other occasions.

Made 65 of 124 field goal tries (52.4 percent) in the last 16 games and scored in double digits seven times . . . In his first 15 games, he had just three double-digit scoring games. Also got to the free throw line for 63 attempts, making 40 for 63.5 percent, a vast improvement over his first 15 games (46.5 percent).

High School

Florida Player of the Year by USA Today . . . Averaged 26 points and 11 rebounds per game as a senior and led St. Thomas Aquinas to the Class 5A state title with a 29-3 record . . . Named state Player of the Year for Class 6A-5A-4A by the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel . . . Most Valuable Player of the state tournament, including 29 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinal game . . . First-team all-county by the Miami Herald . . . Scored a season-high 39 points on two occasions . . . One of 14 players selected for the Capital Classic all-star game at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. . . . Averaged 21.5 points and 9.3 rebounds as a junior, leading his team to a 30-4 record and a berth in the 5A state championship game . . . Also reached the state title game as a sophomore, when he helped St. Thomas Aquinas to a 23-9 record while averaging 12.4 points, eight rebounds and 2.3 assists per game . . . Coached by Steve Strand.

Personal

Full name is Edward Richard Nelson . . . Born March 18, 1982 . . . Parents are Ed, Sr., and Donna Nelson . . . Majoring in management.

Nelson Game-by-Game

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