DeMarcus
Nelson Bio
Personal Notes:
Born DeMarcus De’Juan Nelson on November 2, 1985 in Oakland,
Calif. ... father, Ron, is a pastor and mother, Denise, is a hair
stylist ... has an older brother, Darnele, and sister, Kesia ...
also has a younger brother, Darius ... an academic honor roll student
all four years of high school ... member of Who’s Who Among
High School Students ... favorite athlete is Michael Jordan ...
enjoys music, bowling and video games.
High School / USA Basketball Notes:
Led the West team with 22 points at the 2004 McDonald’s
All-America game ... holds the California state high school record
with 3,462 career points ... also ranks in the state’s top-10
in career rebounds (third, 1,522) and assists (ninth, 791) ... played
three seasons at Vallejo High School before playing his senior season
at Sheldon Senior High School ... named Mr. Basketball in the state
of California and second team Parade All-America as a senior after
averaging 30.3 points, 10.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game ...
the only player to be ranked the No. 1 shooting guard two years
in a row at the ABCD camp ... senior season honors included Nor-Cal
Player of the Year and PowerBar Player of the Year recognition ...
also received league and section MVP accolades ... named a Student
Sport and School Sports All-America four times ... a three-time
Street & Smith and Prepstars All-America selection ... rated
as the country’s No. 17 prospect by Rivals ... ranked No.
5 among shooting guards and No. 30 overall by Insiders ... three-time
All-State, All-NorCal, All-Region, All-League and team MVP at Vallejo
High School from 2001-03 ... averaged 35.0 points, 13.0 rebounds
and 9.0 assists as a junior at Vallejo High, earning league and
section MVP honors ... named Sacramento Bee Male Athlete of the
Year and PowerBar Player of the Year as a junior in 2003 ... averaged
30.0 points, 15.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists as a sophomore, earning
league and section MVP honors ... named California Sophomore Player
of the Year and Vallejo Times Male Athlete of the Year in 2002 ...
was the state Athlete of the Year following his sophomore season
... named the state Freshman of the Year after averaging 18 points,
seven rebounds and six assists at Vallejo High School ... was a
standout quarterback in football, earning all-state and All-America
honors during his high school career ... coached by Scott Gradin
at Sheldon High School during his senior year and Duke Brown in
his three years at Vallejo High.
Led the USA Basketball Men’s Youth Development Festival in
scoring (25.4 ppg.) in 2003 as a member of the West team ... also
was second in steals (2.4) and assists (6.8), seventh in three-point
percentage (.370) and 10th in rebounding (7.4) during the five-game
competition ... current Duke teammate, David McClure, competed for
the East squad.
Career Notes:
Named team captain for the 2007-08 season ... a strong, explosive
scorer with the ability to finish in the lane ... has developed
into an outside scoring threat as well, knocking down 44 three-pointers
a year ago ... one of the top defensive players in the ACC ... his
physical tools enable him to guard four different positions on the
floor ... the only senior and most experienced player on Duke’s
roster with 2,202 career minutes in 90 games played ... averaging
9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in his collegiate career ... has 43
career double-digit scoring games, the most by any Duke returnee
... a solid rebounder for a player of his size ... believed to be
the earliest basketball commitment at Duke ... verbally committed
to the Blue Devils in May of 2002, a week before the end of his
sophomore year of high school ... one of the best athletes in the
ACC ... recovered from a broken left wrist suffered in July at the
Pan Am Games Trials to be ready for the 2007-08 season ... active
in Duke’s award-winning Verizon Read with the Blue Devils,
a community outreach reading program in the Durham school district.
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