Thursday, April 12, 2007

Phil Nelson Leaving UW

Phil Nelson, a 6-foot-7 forward who just completed his freshman season at Washington, has decided to transfer, Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar confirmed Wednesday night. Romar said Nelson, a native of Keizer, Ore., is likely headed to Portland State, which is coached by former Huskies assistant Ken Bone.

Bob Condotta's Seattle Times Article

Nelson played in 31 of 32 games this season so playing time didn't seem to be an issue, but it isn't exactly like he set the world on fire either. UW has a lot of help coming next Fall, and Nelson probably thought that in the long run he would do better at a smaller school. To me this looks like a friendly departure since he is joining ex Husky assistant, and Romar friend, Ken Bone at Portland St..

I wonder why a kid who from what I saw this year, who really doesn't have an NBA career ahead of him, would transfer to a school like Portland St where the value of a degree is much less than the University of Washington? Just some food for thought. From a basketball perspective it isn't like you are going to get to the Big Dance at Portland St either. Size of the school could have been an issue, you just never know.

Just a couple of weeks ago it seemed like UW had too many players on scholarship for next year, Now it seems they may be one short if Spencer Hawes heads to the NBA. You have to hand it to Romar for thinking ahead.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

JB, your comments are spot on. Guess Phil decided playing the game was more important to him than future considerations of connections and degree prominence. I truly wish him well in his future, and thanks for his efforts this past season. One of these days, I am really going to have the leap of faith and trust Coach Romar implicitly in making the numbers work out.

John Berkowitz said...

The UW isn't an easy school even with all the support that is provided for athletes. Romar always seems to be a step ahead of the game in recruiting.

Looks like they may offer another guard next week.