Men's Basketball: Jameer Nelson Jr. Commits to TCU

Nelson Jr. started his career at George Mason, where he played for two seasons. As a freshman, he averaged 10.4 PPG on almost 50% shooting, including a 22-point performance against St. Joseph’s. Nelson only appeared in seven games during his sophomore season, but still enjoyed some strong performances against Navy, where he scored 18 points, and Hampton, 14 points.

Nelson elected to transfer to Delaware after his truncated sophomore season and has since exploded onto the scene. In his first season with the Blue Hens, he scored 13.6 PPG and upped his shooting percentage to 50.2%. He also improved as a three-point shooter, going from a 25% shooter from long-range to 36.4% in just one year.

Last season, Delaware went 17-16, but Nelson had the season of his career. The 6’1 guard scored 20.6 PPG on 52% shooting, while also dishing out a career-high 3.6 assists per game. He also averaged 2.4 steals per game. His best game of the season came against UNC-Wilmington, where he scored 39 points on 13-18 shooting (5-8 from three). He also tallied 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in his team's victory. 

With Miles on the way out, another pure-scoring combo guard was a major need for Dixon and the Frogs. They quickly found that player in Nelson Jr. On3.com ranks Nelson as the fourth-best overall player in the portal behind only Hunter Dickinson, Caleb Love, and J.J. Starling. 247 Sports also has him ranked as the fourth-best transfer in the country, behind Starling, Kel'el Ware, and Taran Armstrong. He was an unranked prospect out of high school.

The Horned Frogs were never going to completely replace Miles’ production or his overall presence on TCU’s campus, but the acquisition of Nelson Jr. will make sure that the Frogs remain a factor in the Big 12.

Dixon had a tall task replacing some of the talent lost from last season’s team, but he could not have gotten off to a much better start. There is still work to be done, but TCU has already addressed its biggest need just a few weeks since its offseason began.