NCAA Basketball: Analyzing Anthony Nelson’s transfer to Manhattan

The Good for Anthony Nelson and Manhattan

If you’ve seen Anthony Nelson play, you know he can bring a high major level of playmaking to the table.

He showed flashes of this past season. With the Pirates severely undermanned versus Maryland, Nelson started and dropped 10 points and four assists in the upset of the Terrapins. Against Marquette on January 11th, Nelson was the spark plug off the bench that started a 9-0 run to put the Pirates out of reach. Nelson has shown the ability to be able to attack the rim and create for others when given the opportunity to do so.

Furthermore, Nelson should receive the opportunity to receive more playing time at Manhattan. The Jaspers played their four highest-scoring guards all more than 20 minutes per game last season. Unlike at Seton Hall where the rotation got slimmed down, Steve Massiello likes to rotate his core of guards and give each plenty of time on the floor. So, I’d expect Nelson to receive a major uptick from the 12.5 he was receiving at Seton Hall.

And as I said before, Nelson will be walking into a pretty good squad as well. The Jaspers have serious talent this season, but even when Nelson becomes eligible there will still be talent. The Jaspers will have five players who played at least 16 minutes and averaged seven points per game eligible in the 2021-22 season (current sophomores). Therefore, Nelson will be joining a team competing from the MAAC crown.

While there are a ton of positives to Nelson joining the Jaspers, let’s take a look at some of the causes for concern.