Spencer Howells Nelson ( az, Spenser Hauels Nelson, born July 11, 1980) is an American-born Azerbaijani naturalized former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. At 6'8", he played at both

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

and power forward, although he was mainly considered a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

High school

Spencer attended

Pocatello High School Pocatello High School is a four-year public high school in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. It is the oldest of the three traditional high schools of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District and serves the southwest portion. The school colors are ...

and was named the Idaho A-1 Player of the Year as a senior in 1998. He averaged 22 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks per game as a senior. Hit 43.3 percent of his three-pointers and sank 73.0 percent of his free throws as a senior. As a junior, he averaged 14.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and shot 62.5 percent from the field. Earned second-team all-state honors and first-team all-region honors as a junior. Spencer had a notoriously loud and raucous group of fans in high school he named "The Sixth Man" which provided a home court advantage even on away games. Spencer's abilities were not limited to the basketball court as he was a four-year letterwinner in tennis, claiming the men's doubles state championship in 1998 and finishing third in mixed doubles in 1997.

College

After his freshman year, he went on a two-year mission to Oklahoma, serving

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

. Upon his return, he became one of the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

's best players. Nelson had a stellar career as an Aggie and was named to the Utah State University All-Century Team while still playing for

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

Professional basketball

After graduating in 2005, he was not drafted in the

2005 NBA Draft The 2005 NBA draft took place on June 28, 2005, in the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, NBA teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, such as players fr ...

. However, he was invited to try out for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. He was an immediate fan favorite because of his success at Utah State. Despite playing well, Nelson was not chosen for the final roster, but was immediately offered a spot playing for

GHP Bamberg Brose Bamberg is a German professional basketball team from Bamberg, Franconia / North Bavaria. The club has won the German Championship title nine times and the German Cup five times. The club currently plays in the German top tier Basketb ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. In 2006, instead of seeing if he'd make the final roster for the Jazz, Nelson chose to play for Benetton Treviso, a team that he made an outstanding performance against while playing with Bamberg in the Euroleague (he scored 23 points, pulled down 20

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and delivered 7 assists) in a 92-85 home win. Nelson's good performance helped the team qualify for the top 16 phase, the first ever

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

team to accomplish this achievement.
After spending one season with Treviso, mainly coming from the bench, Nelson transferred to Climamio Bologna, also in Italy. On 26 January 2010 he stated that

(

) was his favourite professional club he played for. He also told a local radio station to send greetings to the fans of his former club. In July 2010 he signed a contract with CB Gran Canaria in the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

ACB, where he played with former

teammate

Jaycee Carroll Jaycee Don Carroll (born April 16, 1983) is a former American-born naturalized Azerbaijani professional basketball player. He has also represented the senior Azerbaijani national team. While playing college basketball for the Utah State Universi ...

during the season 2010/11. In September 2013, he signed with the Italian club

Montepaschi Siena Mens Sana 1871 Basket is an Italian professional basketball club based in Siena. It is a section of the sports club Polisportiva Mens Sana, founded in 1871. Under the name Montepaschi Siena, derived from sponsor Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, ...

for the 2013–14 season. On November 13, 2014, he signed with

Reyer Venezia Mestre S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

for the 2014–15 season. On July 14, 2015, Nelson announced his retirement from professional basketball. Nelson returned to Utah State as an assistant coach on August 23, 2016.

Personal

After he retired from playing basketball, Nelson worked at Cicero Group in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, where he ran the company's private equity group. Nelson is married to Julie Clayton Nelson.

Awards

High school

* 1997-98 Idaho A-1 Player of the Year

College

* 2002-03 Big West Player of the Week (1/13/03) * 2002-03 Utah State Most Inspirational Player * 2002-03 Academic All-Big West * 2002-03 Big West Hustle Player of the Year * 2002-03 All-Big West Honorable Mention * 2003-04 Big West Player of the Week (1/12/04) * 2003-04 Utah State Most Inspirational Player * 2003-04 Multiple Sclerosis Society Utah State Chapter Collegiate Male Athlete of the Year * 2003-04 Academic All-Big West * 2003-04 Big West Hustle Player of the Year * 2003-04 Big West Second Team All-Conference * 2004-05 Big West Player of the Week (12/20/04) * 2004-05 Big West Player of the Week (1/31/05) * 2004-05 Big West Player of the Week (2/7/05) * 2004-05 Utah State Most Inspirational Player * 2004-05 Cecil Baker Most Valuable Player * 2004-05 Utah State Male Athlete of the Year * 2004-05 Utah State Big West Scholar-Athlete * 2004-05 Big West All-Tournament Team * 2004-05 Big West First Team All-Conference * 2004-05 Big West Hustle Player of the Year * 2004-05 United States Basketball Writer's Association All District 8 Team * 2004-05 CollegeInsider.com Mid Major Player of the Year

References

External links

FIBA.com profile

Eurocup player profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Spencer 1980 births Living people 21st-century Mormon missionaries American emigrants to Azerbaijan American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American Latter Day Saints American Mormon missionaries in the United States Aris B.C. players Azerbaijani Latter Day Saints Azerbaijani men's basketball players Basketball players from Idaho Brose Bamberg players CB Gran Canaria players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Greek Basket League players Liga ACB players Mens Sana Basket players Naturalized citizens of Azerbaijan Pallacanestro Treviso players Peristeri B.C. players Power forwards (basketball) Small forwards Sportspeople from Pocatello, Idaho Utah State Aggies men's basketball players American men's basketball players