Brett Nelson (1999-03) – Guard
Brett Nelson was a key member of Billy Donovan’s turn-of-the-millennium squad that reached the 2000 NCAA Tournament Finals while collecting 100 wins during his four years in school.
Hailing from St. Albans, West Virginia, Nelson was a 1999 McDonald’s All-American standout and the state’s player of the year his senior season. His efforts earned him a spot on Donovan’s team, which had reached the Sweet 16 the season before he arrived and almost won it all his freshman year.
Nelson’s most productive years at Florida came during his sophomore and junior seasons when he averaged 15.3 and 14.6 points per game while dishing out 4.3 and 3.3 assists per game, respectively. He also sported three-point percentages of 43.4, 45.3 and 39.5 in his first three seasons, respectively, with a career-high eight attempts per game his junior year, proving Nelson a significant threat from beyond the arc. Despite entering his senior season a Preseason Naismith Award Semifinalist, his final year saw a dramatic drop-off in games started and minutes played along with overall production.
Going undrafted in 2003, Nelson briefly played professional ball in Sweden but quickly decided that sports management and coaching was his career path. He took a job as director of basketball operations at Colorado State and then at VCU for a season each from 2005 to 2007 before embarking on his coaching career. Nelson is currently the head coach at Holy Cross — his first head coach gig — where in his first season on the bench his Crusaders went 3-29.