Sa'eed Nelson (born September 9, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for

SC Rasta Vechta Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German basketball club based in Vechta, Lower Saxony. The club plays in the ProA, the second tier of professional Basketball in Germany. Founded in 1979, the club spent the majority of its history in the lower-tier ...

of the German ProA. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, where he holds the all time school scoring record with 2,116 career points.

Early life and high school career

Nelson is the son of Jeffery Nelson and grew up in Pleasantville, New Jersey. His favorite basketball player growing up was

Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant ( ; August 23, 1978 – January 26, 2020) was an American professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely r ...

. He mainly focused on playing football before high school, and he was a big

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

fan. Nelson attended St. Augustine Prep, where he was coached by Paul Rodio. Nelson stood 5'5 as a freshman. As a junior, Nelson averaged 18.5 points and 7.8 assists per game and led the team to a 27–2 record. In his senior season, Nelson hit the clinching shot and free throw in a 58–55 win against Christian Brothers Academy in the Battle by the Bay. In the Non-Public A title game, he scored 30 points in a 83–50 win against Don Bosco Preparatory High School. Nelson was a two-time Press of Atlantic City player of the year and finished his career with 1,625 points, third highest in school history. Despite averaging 20 points per game as a senior, Nelson was not highly recruited, as most of his scholarship offers came from

Patriot League The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...

schools, and he was rated a one-star recruit by ESPN. He committed to

on October 5, 2015.

College career

In his freshman debut, Nelson scored 12 points in a 62–56 loss to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He posted back-to-back 24 point games against

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and St. Francis (Pennsylvania), averaging 14.9 points per game as a freshman. He was named to the

All-Rookie Team. As a sophomore, Nelson averaged 18.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game, though the team finished 6-24. He was named to the Second Team All-Patriot League. Nelson averaged 19.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.4 steals per game as a junior. He was named to the First Team All-Patriot League. Nelson scored 28 points on February 15, 2020, in a 72–68 loss to Bucknell and broke the 2,000 point threshold. On February 26, Nelson scored 30 points in a 79–59 win against Lafayette and broke Russell Bowers' all-time scoring record at American. At the conclusion of the regular season, Nelson was named Patriot League Player of the Year. He averaged 18.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as a senior.

Professional career

On August 26, 2020, Nelson signed his first professional contract with

Academics Heidelberg USC Heidelberg, for sponsorship reasons named MLP Academics Heidelberg, is a professional basketball club from Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The club's men's senior team currently plays in the German first division Basketball Bundeslig ...

of the ProA. He averaged 12.9 points, 5.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. On September 5, 2021, Nelson signed with

Rapla KK Rapla KK, also known as Avis Utilitas Rapla for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Rapla, Estonia. The team plays in the Latvian–Estonian Basketball League. Their home arena is the Sadolin Sports Hall. History In ...

of the

Latvian-Estonian Basketball League The Latvian-Estonian Basketball League is the highest professional men's club basketball league in Latvia and Estonia; it has been organised since 2018, run by the Latvian Basketball Association and the Estonian Basketball Association. History ...

. On December 28, 2021, he has signed with

of the German ProA.

References

External links

American Eagles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Sa'eed 1998 births Living people American Eagles men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Germany American men's basketball players Basketball players from New Jersey People from Pleasantville, New Jersey Point guards SC Rasta Vechta players Sportspeople from Atlantic County, New Jersey St. Augustine Preparatory School alumni USC Heidelberg players