Senior forward averaged 16.0 points 7.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists during the year.
April 5, 2005
LOGAN, Utah -
Utah State's men's basketball standout Spencer Nelson was named the mid-major Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com it was announced on Tuesday after leading the Aggies to a 24-8 record and the school's fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last six years.
Twenty-one conferences are classified as "mid-major" by CollegInsider.com and all mid-major awards are voted on by staff members.
"I feel very fortunate to have coached Spencer," said USU head coach Stew Morrill. "He is the total package! In 19 years as a Division I head coach, I've never had a better leader. He's an excellent student, a first-class teammate, and obviously a very talented player. Spencer possesses the type of character that you wish you could bottle up and pass on to everyone in your program. He is very deserving of this tremendous honor."
Nelson, a 6-8 senior forward from Pocatello, Idaho, averaged 16.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and shot 60.0 percent from the field and 78.7 percent from the free throw line. Nelson finished the year ranked first in the Big West Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.92), second in rebounding and field goal percentage, third in scoring and assists, and fifth in free throw percentage.
"He is a dynamic player," said CollegeInsider.com's Matt Drake. "He can beat you with a jumper and he can beat you off the dribble. He can beat you on the glass and he can beat you with great ability to pass the basketball. He has outstanding court vision. The kid is a winner in every sense of the word."
Nelson was also named a mid-major All-American by CollegeInsider.com, along with receiving Player of the Year accolades. Other honors received by Nelson during his senior season include being named a first-team all-Big West selection, a Big West all-tournament team selection, the league's Hustle Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, and a member of the United States Basketball Writer's All-District VIII team.
During the 2004-05 campaign, Nelson become just the 40th player in school history to score 500 points in a single-season and his 152 assists on the year ranked as the seventh-most in a single-season at Utah State. Furthermore, Nelson was the only player in the country during the course of the season to average at least 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
