4A Mr. Basketball Candidate: James Nelson
When mentioning Mr. Basketball candidates, James Nelson has to be one of the first names due to the stats that he put up as Junior. He was a scoring machine who also registered 4 double-doubles last season due to his ability to get on the glass.
Why James Nelson Could Win Mr. Basketball
As simply put as possible, Nelson has to be considered a serious contender because the projection on his stat line is insane. If he continues to do what he did last year and then some, he will be one of the state’s leading scorers and rebounders.
In addition to scoring the basketball and rebounding it at a high level, he is a good passer. He draws a lot of attention from the defense and finds his teammates well.
He will most likely lead Salem Hills in every major statistical category from points per game to rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. If that does not illicit plenty of attention, I am not sure what will. He is a game changer and a scouting report nightmare.
James Nelson’s Mr. Basketball Obstacles
Despite all of the positives that can be said, there are obstacles for Nelson to overcome. Unfortunately, one of them is something that he can’t control. Due to being in the 4A classification, there is always the chance that somebody else’s numbers will look nicer due to playing in a higher classification.
In addition, Nelson did not shoot the basketball particularly well from 3 last year. He will need to shoot it above 30% in order to earn more respect. He is a capable shooter who takes a high volume of shoots due to his role. Improving this percentage will aid his stat line even more.
Lastly, Salem Hills will most likely need to win the state title for him to get more serious consideration.
James Nelson’s Mr. Basketball Chances
Nelson will have the stats. He is too important to this team and their chances of winning for him to not mandate a high percentage of touches throughout the game. Further, he creates touches for himself due to his activity on the glass.
If Salem Hills is able to win the state championship and his three point shooting percentage improves, it would be hard to give it to any other candidate due to the numbers he would put up. Nelson is a legitimate contender who will get a good chance to win this award as well as the 4A Player of the Year.