Ron Nelson (born October 7, 1946) was an American basketball player who played briefly in the original

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA). He was drafted 26th overall in the 1968 NBA draft by the Baltimore Bullets, yet decided to return the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

for a year to complete his degree and act as an assistant coach. Nelson played college basketball at

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports to the G ...

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

and the University of New Mexico. For the two years that Nelson played at

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, they were coined "two of the best teams in school history." In his first season the 1966-67 Lobos rose to third ranked in the nation. Nelson and the late ABA two-time ABA league MVP

Mel Daniels Melvin Joe Daniels (July 20, 1944 – October 30, 2015) was an American professional basketball player. He played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) for the Minnesota Muskies, Indiana Pacers, and Memphis Sounds, and in the National Bask ...

made an unbeatable combo. Nelson's senior season at UNM began with a 17-0 run and resulted in a WAC title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in UNM history. He led the team averaging 19.5 points/game. He was then selected as a Helms All-American in addition to being first team All-WAC.He later went on to play for

The Floridians ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

of the ABA. He appeared in 59 games during the 1970–71 season, averaging 3.2

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of points by nu ...

References

1946 births Living people American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) draft picks Basketball players from New Mexico Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Miami Floridians players New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players New Mexico Military Institute alumni Shooting guards {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub