Ball State men’s basketball head coach James Whitford has made his first addition en route to building a coaching staff. Whitford hired Brett Nelson as his associate head coach Friday.
Nelson spent time coaching at Marshall, Arkansas and most recently at Drake.
In his two seasons at Drake, the Bulldogs had .500 record at 33-33, and had a third place in the Missouri Valley Conference in the 2011-2012 season. That same season he helped Drake to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Before Drake, Nelson coached for one season at Arkansas, in which the team 18-13 and finished third place in the Southeastern Conference.
His first three seasons of coaching were rebuilding at Marshall, in which he guided a Thundering Herd program to its best finish as a program in nine years at 24-10.
Nelson touted the No. 45 recruiting class in the nation at Drake according to HoopScoop.com. While at Arkansas his recruiting class was top-ten nationally. Giving him the reputation of an excellent recruiter, the same as his new boss.
Nelson was a very accomplished player, earning McDonalds All-American honors in high school before playing collegiately at Florida. At Florida, he started for three seasons, including the Gators’ national champion runner-up finish in 2000. Nelson leads the Gators in career categories 3-pointers made (274) and attempted (689).
