Reeves Nelson & NBA Delusions
by Nestor on Aug 7, 2010 9:24 AM PDT
in Basketball
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PrintESPN's Diamond Leung flagged a very interesting quote from Raymond Nelson - the latest commit for Rick Neuheisel's football program - about his older brother Reeves Nelson. The elder Nelson is going to be a second year player in Coach Ben Howland's hoops program, who is coming off a pretty decent freshman campaign in what was overall one of the worst seasons in the history of UCLA basketball. So Raymond let this little detail out about his older brother in an interview with the Modesto Bee:
"I fully expect him to go to the pros next year, so he might not even be there when I get there. I know him and I completely believe in his abilities, so maybe I'll go there and fill his spot at UCLA."
That is pretty funny stuff. As Diamond notes Raymond appeared to give his own thoughts on where his elder brother is headed but the question comes up where exactly he is coming up with those ideas. If those ideas are coming from Reeves or some associate around him, someone should recommend them the check in at the UCLA Medical Plaza for some help. They should certainly stay away from "blogging" in the Bleacher Report.
Reeves Nelson had a very good first year but to say that he is NBA material at this point of time is nothing short of delusional. Nelson was no doubt an animal at court at times early in the season. He was a fighter and scrapper. Yet there is an important little detail where he was absent. It's called defense. If Nelson wants to emerge as a mainstay in Ben Howland's basketball program, he will have to play defense. He dropped the ball on that department on number of occasions this past season.
In fact by end of the season, Brendan Lane was a much more polished power forward than Reeves Nelson. It was Lane, who was doing what Howland asked him to do and playing within the scheme of team-work. So whoever is advising Reeves Nelson these days, they should be telling him to focus on learning how to be a Ben Ball warrior, instead of having delusions about leaving for the NBA after two raw seasons in Westwood. They should also be googling the words "lockout" and "NBA".
There was also this little detail about Reeve's Nelson tattoo in the same article:
"Wait until you see Reeves now," Raymond said. "It will surprise everybody because he has a whole sleeve-full now."
Sure hope he is working as hard on his game as he has been on this tattoos. If he not he will have plenty of time to admire them while sitting on the bench.
GO BRUINS.
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Not just defense
I don’t think the NBA is clamoring for many undersized PFs who cannot hit free-throws.
+1 and I would add
Reeves has not shown range to shoot mid range jumpers either. A 4 in the pros needs that shot.
wow
Hope he’s just showing brotherly love. RN is a baller in the making, but is far from ready to make the jump. Great points about his defensive lapse last year, he needs to work on his sleeve once he’s earned it ala Matt Barnes.
by westwood12003 on Aug 7, 2010 10:48 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
We hope
This is nothing more than a little brother being extra excited. However, this thought of going pro after 2 years is a serious one around Reeve’s Nelson, they do need to get their heads checked. From what I have heard despite some lapses Nelson had a pretty good time his first year at UCLA. So the comments above could nothing more than youth talking. We will see I guess.
For now hope Reeves Nelson improves on his defense and his FT shooting (as pointed out by UCLA4Life). Without those improvements he is going nowhere special unless he gets his degree from UCLA.
Perhaps more about Raymond than Reeves?
My delusional hope is that this is more about Raymond emphasizing that he is coming to the UCLA football program for his own sake and because of the football program’s direction, and does not want to be in his brother’s shadow.
Delusional hope runner-up would be that he is just a smart(ass) kid messing with the media.
Idea just seems too ridiculous to be true otherwise.
by britishbruin on Aug 7, 2010 8:55 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm sure we'd hear a lot more "NBA delusions"
If the athletes’ younger brothers always got quoted in papers. I’m pretty sure a younger brother saying these things reflects more on a healthy family dynamic than on delusions held by someone who is not even quoted. He is not a sports analyst, he is a high school athlete who believes his older brother (who I’m sure he looks up to) can and will accomplish his dreams.
If Reeves wants to go to the NBA, I’m sure he knows he has a lot of work to do.
by yarrrp on Aug 7, 2010 10:52 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Well
This is not the first time a little brother is following the big one into Westwood. However, it is the first time a little brother is being so explicit about big brother’s intentions in press. So it’s certainly noteworthy. Let’s hope it is nothing more than “a healthy family dynamic.”
absolutely noteworthy
Completely agree. These comments at the very least are a direct reflection at a disturbing trend in what’s wrong with college basketball. These delusions of grandeur are just mind boggling. yea lets hope Reeves has his head on straight and CBH and company can recruit these guys into staying 3 or 4 years in Westwood.
by westwood12003 on Aug 7, 2010 11:28 AM PDT via mobile reply actions
Amazing
The nice thing about Nelson’s emergence last year was the expectation that he would be an old-school, four-year player. For him ever to play in the NBA he will need either to (i) dramatically improve his perimeter game, as Matt Barnes did; or (ii) grow four inches. I don’t see either happening in the next few months.
right
Seriously. And lets remember this is his brother speaking. Until we hear this kind of talk directly from Reeves…
by westwood12003 on Aug 7, 2010 12:12 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Josh Shipp Had a Good Freshman Year Too
JS’s first year at UCLA made everyone believe he had a bigger upside than AA. Perhaps he did, but he didn’t pan out (Micro fracture surgery?).
At the same time a little brother should always look up to big bro and believe in them. I’d hate to see Reeves leave early.
if RN blows up to be an NBA caliber PF, I'll happily support his decision. h
It will mean he has improved a lot, and will have to be a beast next season.
by AllHailMightyBruins on Aug 7, 2010 1:47 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
A cautionary tale for Reeves
Reeves you need not only to play D but be good at it. If the best player from last year’s team, Michael Roll, does not make the pros it will be for one reason:
Michael Roll, a four-year guard out of UCLA, has an unspectacular but complete offensive game. He strokes the ball beautifully from distance, can hold his dribble in traffic, and pass the ball on the move. Unfortunately, he has trouble staying in front of opposing shooting guards — both off the dribble and in post-up situations — through no lack of effort.
Reeves you have to make the effort on D and show you can do it before you can think about the pros. (Along with the things people have said above.)
luckily for Reeves
while you can’t teach height or athleticism, you can improve on positioning and hustle. At the 4 he shouldn’t find himself totally overmatched; he just needs to get himself into the right place at the right time and trust in his teammates defensively to do the same. I’m not sure if anyone keeps this stat, but I’d like to see his block attempts go DOWN this year.
You're right, Blocks can be overrated
If you miss on a block you are out of position for the rebound because you left your man if you went to help.
Also you can get more fouls going for blocks. Reeves one foul per 10.24 minutes is the highest of our returning players except for Brandon Lane. (Lane was the out of control hustle guy and it showed with his one foul every 7.3 minutes.)
At 4 he should not have to worry about that and instead be able to focus on his man, playing D, and rebounding.
Nelson is a Mark Madsen kind of player
If he ends up averaging 14 pts and 8 rebounds a game, I would not be surprised if someone would be willing to take him in the second round. The NBA draft is now a guessing game on underclassmen who will pan out in a year or two. That’s why the Butler’s of the world have a chance. Look at how long it took for a senior to be drafted this year. Bruins have a very good track record of sticking in the NBA. It’s not as big a delusion as we would hope.
The NBA is a guessing game
in which managers guess which hyper-athletic underclassmen will actually learn to play basketball. No GMs are clamoring for Reeves Nelson types.
Yeah sometimes the NBA logic is you can teach basketball
You can’t teach athleticism or height.
Nelson is a Jon Brockman type of player
a strong but not hugely athletic power forward with some scoring touch and ability to muscle his way to some rebounds. Brockman was getting a lot more hype after his freshman year than Reeves, and ended up getting drafted mid-2nd round after his senior year.
The stats are not wildly different between the two of them in their freshman year – Reeves more points, Brockman more rebounds – but an actual comparison is difficult because of the teams on which they played (Brockman’s team was led by a senior Brandon Roy, with solid senior starters and plenty of depth, with Brockman as the ~4 scoring option; Reeves’ team… wasn’t)
Disagree a bit, I would say he is more like Trevor Wilson
Brockman was a muscle man brute force of nature. Reeves has some relatively quickness and is not as strong. Brockman never got out-muscled, Reeves did by Sanders Frison and Laundry Fields. (That was partially because he was out of position.) Reeves is comfortable putting the ball on the floor and going to the basket. Brockman couldn’t dribble to save his life. Brockman’s moves were those of the type “you know what I am going to do but I am so big you can’t stop me,” Reeves actually was able to spin, duck under, etc.
If I had to compare Reeves to someone it would be an-ex UCLA player of long ago, Trevor Wilson. Hopefully not in the temper category but he reminds me more of him than Brockman. He has great hands, a good feel for the ball, great quickness for a 4, but not the shooting range to play wing. Reeves is better with his back to the basket than Trevor was but Trevor at this point had shown more in the open floor. (Reeves has shown a few flashes here.)
hm...
Brockman isn’t all that big – strong for sure, but 6’7’’ 252 when he graduated, to Reeves’ 6’8 228 as a frosh…
I didn’t see that much of Brockman, but my recollection of his skillset is more positive than yours (though I am also not able to easily distinguish between Brockman as a senior from Brockman as a frosh).
I’ll take your word from it on Trevor Wilson, but I never saw him play…
by britishbruin on Aug 8, 2010 12:34 PM PDT up reply actions
Agreed with DCBruins...
Reeves is more skilled on offense…Brockman is stronger and a better rebounder, though.
While I understand all of the talk of Reeves’ defense, I would also say that our poor group defense caused RN to have to rotate and help way more than he should have to.
Hrmmmmm...
“Reeves did by Sanders Frison and Laundry Fields.”
Was “Laundry” intentional or not?
I would have to look at the footage, but I would say Landy was quicker, and outskilled RN. “Colonel” Sanders (Fry, Son!) was way too big for Reeves.
lol
Sorry about that, yes Landry Fields not Laundry. That was a Firefox auto correct I think.
No worries...
I was just wondering if this was some nickname I was unaware of.
If Landry can continue his play from summer league, a lot more people will know his name.
I agree with 75...
“It’s not as big a delusion as we would hope.”
In fact, nearly every comparasion mentioned here to Nelson, is to some former or current NBA’er. The way the money is these days, anyone with a solid shot to get drafted by the 2nd Round has to look hard at that money – esp is the NBA is one’s career aspiration.
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
I remember Toby Bailey back in '94
saying something about Moose being a knock down shooter who could “jump out the gym” so take a brother’s assessment with a grain of salt. As for now, that’s exactly the way I’m going to read this, as a kid brother hyping up his older bro.
Scattered musings as I recall the whole Jrue Holliday experience...
1. A “less than expected” freshman year has zero bearing on how NBA’ers evaluate kids.
2. College team blogger opinions have zero bearing on how NBA’ers evaluate kids.
3. When “blood family” says that an athlete is headed to the pros – said athlete is gone.
4. Ben Howland’s a fantastic hire when new to a program. Sustainer? The jury is out.
5. Westbrook goes from solid freshman to star NBA’er in lighting speed. We missed it.
6. Star NBA’ers ballin in Westwood, yet not only no Banner, but blown out! WTF?
7. Nelson, Lee, (that other dude who’s name escapes me) are all gone next season.
8. UCLA Basketball will be dead until we join the 2010+ style of high-flyin profilers.
U-C-L-A Fight, Fight, Fight! Go Bruins!
if you can't recall Tyler Honeycutt's name
then your scattered musings will probably have zero bearing on how the rest of us will evaluate the situation…
Rumor mongering?
But might the younger brother’s comments hint at the expectations Reeves has for himself?
This line from the article is literally putting words in Reeves’ mouth so this “journalist” can have more than two paragraphs to write about.
Where there's smoke?
If there’s any truth at all to the rumor, SI.com may have had a hand in pouring a bit of gasoline on the fire. A recent article:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/luke_winn/08/05/breakout.candidates/index.html
It appears this was written on 8/5 — a couple of days before Nestor began this thread. I wonder if the SI article was the source of the Nelson head-swelling…
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