Arizona Guard Gets to Turn Dreams into Reality This Year
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After growing up in Tucson and watching how much Arizona basketball meant to the city first hand, and also playing high school basketball at Salpointe, Evan Nelson will get to live his dream this year as he puts on an Arizona jersey and plays for the Wildcats after spending the last four years at Harvard.
"It feels great to first of all be home," Nelson said. "And then to be part of this program that I watched all my life growing up, to know the history that's behind this program and to now be part of it and to have the opportunity to play at the biggest stage in college basketball, it's the best feeling and been the best time so far."
Nelson mentioned starting to think about the possibility of transferring for his final year of eligibility last season, but he wanted to stay focused on the year at hand with Harvard. Once he entered the portal, it did not take long for him to land in Arizona.
"Towards the end of this team's season, (TJ Benson) reached out to me when I was in the portal this past spring," Nelson said. "Pretty much from that moment on, just developed that relationship, he came out to visit me and it was really a quick process because I knew this was where I wanted to be."
Nelson now joins this Arizona team with 68 total games and 50 starts under his belt during his tenure at Harvard. Despite his previous experience playing college basketball, he is new to this UA team, along with the other freshmen. While the general expectation is that he is expected to back up Jaden Bradley at point guard, he still understands he'll have to work for his role with a deep roster that Tommy Lloyd has at his disposal this season.
"We've got a star-studded class of freshmen and returners, so every day it's a grind to try to earn those minutes," Nelson said. "Given that, Coach Lloyd has been very encouraging to me and for everybody on our team. For me when and if I do get those minutes, it's about being as aggressive as I can be... I think there will be those opportunities, hopefully, and just making the most of them when I do get out there and do have the opportunity to play some minutes."
Nelson will get to officially live his dream playing as an Arizona Wildcat in the Red-Blue showcase game at McKale Center on October 3 and when the season kicks off against Florida on November 3 in Las Vegas.
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Ari Koslow is a sports writer covering the University of Arizona athletics at On SI. Koslow has been covering Arizona sports for several years. Born and raised in Seattle, he is a diehard Seahawks fan and a longtime sufferer of the Mariners. He is a huge fantasy football fanatic. Koslow is a graduate of Arizona’s School of Journalism.