Nelson back in uniform for Santa Barbara

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When standout Roberto Nelson went down with a right shoulder injury 10 days ago, things went from bad to worse real quick for a Santa Barbara program with high expectations this season. The Dons struggled against teams they normally wouldn’t, such as Alemany and Lancaster, and didn’t fair much better against El Camino Real and Antelope Valley.

Four consecutive losses later, the Dons, No. 22 in The Times’ preseason rankings, found themselves at a crossroads. It was either start winning or watch things continue to slip away. And with Nelson expected to be back in the lineup tonight against Venice in an opening round game of the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic, it appear as if winning is an option again.

‘Roberto is going to give it a go this week,’’ Santa Barbara Coach Chris Hantgin said. ‘He’s not full strength, but a Roberto Nelson at 80 or 90 percent is better than no Roberto Nelson at all. He does so many things well, so many things other players can’t do. He’s the engine that makes us run.’’

Make no mistake, having Nelson, one of the more highly touted underclassman in the nation, is imperative. The tournament field is loaded with quality teams, including Palisades, Corona del Mar and Clovis West. With him, Santa Barbara has a chance of making some noise. Without him, well, we saw what happened when the Dons were without him.

-- Sean Ceglinsky