The Los Angeles Lakers have been working out several NBA Draft prospects over the past few weeks. While some have been more well known to casual fans, others, such as Fairfield guard Tyler Nelson, are somewhat of an unknown.
Nelson is a 6’3 guard and is actually Fairfield’s all-time leading scorer. He averaged 22.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists as a senior. He also shot a solid 37.3 percent from 3-point range in his college career.
One of the concerns following Nelson is, of course, the fact that he went to Fairfield as opposed to a bigger school. Some question the level of competition he played against, but following his workout with the Lakers, Nelson said that he is looking to prove people wrong about his small school pedigree, via the Lakers’ Twitter account:
“It’s a mid-major school, not a lot of people know about it. But, I’m here. I think my work shows for itself. I think I’ve earned this opportunity to come in here and compete. Obviously, coming from a small school, people are going to have doubts. I’m just trying to prove people wrong.”
Nelson has certainly had the chance to do just that. He had an impressive showing at the Portsmouth Invitational which has put him on the radar for some teams and the Lakers have had success with small-school players such as Larry Nance Jr., who was a star at Wyoming.
While Nelson has some potential with his ability to score the ball and make plays for himself and others, there are some concerns his athleticism, defensive potential, and whether he can play point guard at the NBA level.
Regardless, the Lakers are going to look at every possible prospect they can in order to make the right decision come draft night. Nelson’s small-school background does not cross him off the Lakers’ list.
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