USF’s Izaiyah Nelson turns historic season into rising NBA draft stock

On Tuesday night, Izaiyah Nelson will likely become the first USF men's basketball player to be taken in the NBA draft in 16 years.

To put that into perspective, nine different franchises have won NBA titles since Bulls guard Dominique Jones was taken 25th overall by Memphis in 2010 and immediately traded to Dallas. The Tampa Bay Lightning won a pair of Stanley Cups. The Bucs won the 2021 Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady..

Yeah, it has been a while and a lot of water has gone under the bridge since Jones heard his name called. But anyone who paid even cursory attention to how Nelson played this season understands what a joy he was to watch.

Projections have him going midway through the second round, probably a little before 9 p.m. Scouts are intrigued with his high motor and willingness to defend with vigor inside the paint.

USA Today has him going 42nd overall to San Antonio.

The Athletic has him 41st to the Miami Heat.

"I came away more impressed after a deep dive into Nelson than I expected, largely because of the versatility he brings defensively. He needs to find the right coach who is willing to mix and match coverages regularly, as opposed to simply playing out of a base drop-coverage scheme. But there is room to imagine what he could become if he finds that spot," analyst Sam Vecenie wrote. 

"Offensively, he’s robotic, but he was athletic enough in a down year in the AAC to average 16 points per game. If the jumper comes around, I could buy into Nelson being a useful combo big. He’s not someone I would give a guaranteed deal to because of his lack of size and strength, but he’s worth a two-way to see if he can add the weight, skill and processing ability."

Nelson has relentless "want to" and was far and away the most dominant player in the American Conference.

Did we say dominant?

Nelson was the conference Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year -- a trifecta that is a tribute to how far he has come in a relatively short time.

Nelson was on the roster at Arkansas State when Bryan Hodgson took over as the Red Wolves head coach. After two seasons, Nelson followed Hodgson to USF.

“To be honest with you, when we got him, he stunk,” Hodgson said. “I mean, he was awful. We all thought we’d be moving on from him at the end of the year, and then he just fell in love with the work. No one had ever really taught him the work that it takes to be good and showed him how good he could be if he put in the work.”

When it all came together this season for USF, it catapaulted the Bulls into the national conversation and Nelson from relative obscurity into a an increasingly intriguing NBA prospect.

"Defensively is where Izaiyah Nelson’s NBA case starts. Nelson has legit tools, with plus length, mobility, and bounce that helps both in rebounding and switching onto smaller defenders. Nelson is not just a stand-still rim protector, He slides with guards for stretches, plays passing lanes well, has impressive recovery ability, and erases mistakes around the rim from a variety of origins," Maxwell Giger wrote in The Center Hub.

"Izaiyah Nelson’s rebounding ability is also a huge draw for scouts. Nelson tracks misses well, gets off the floor quickly both on his first and second jump, and creates extra possessions without needing a play called for him."

His performance at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament -- a high-level pre-draft event for NBA prospects -- earned him accolades.

No Ceilings writer Maxwell Baumbach put Nelson in the list of four players in his top tier of performers at the tournament.

"Nelson feels like a stellar bet to eat innings the way that Julian Reese did this past year if nothing else. He moves like a wing when he gets into passing lanes, his head is comfortably above the rim when he goes up to dunk, he soars for rejections, and he fights hard on the glass," he wrote.

"There are far worse players you could throw onto an NBA floor than a guy this tall who moves this well and competes this hard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up putting together some rock-solid games on an NBA court next season."

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