Catching up with: Sam Nelson

Barry Faulkner

Sam Nelson went to UCLA to win a national championship. He just

never realized it might be in the court game with the nets on each end.

The former Estancia High basketball standout avoided scholarship

offers from college hoop programs, including Air Force Academy, to which

he originally committed, to walk on for Bruins’ volleyball coaching

legend Al Scates.

But, as the throes of March Madness grip a nation, Nelson finds

himself on Coach Steve Lavin’s bench, soaking in the kind of atmosphere

few athletes ever enjoy.

“UCLA basketball is huge,” Nelson said recently from his Westwood

apartment. “The atmosphere for the Stanford game (March 3 at Pauley

Pavilion) was unbelievable. That was the first game in a long time that I

remember getting butterflies when I ran on the court.”

Nelson, who has played, but not scored in the regular season, has and

will travel with the Bruins during their trek through the NCAA

Tournament, which began in Greensboro, N.C. with East Regional wins over

Hofstra and Utah State.

But, though he is thoroughly enjoying his return to basketball, a

sport in which he earned myriad honors as a prep, he is also considering

returning to volleyball for his senior campaign.

“It seems like (Scates) fell in love with me once I made the

basketball team,” Nelson said. “He wants me to come back next year and

says I can compete for a starting job.”

Nelson’s initial UCLA volleyball experience was less than satisfying.

After redshirting as a freshman, he played in the early stages of the

2000 season, before a 6-foot-10 freshman returned from a Mormon mission

and buried him on the bench.

“I wasn’t able to travel with the team the rest of the year, which was

kind of disappointing,” Nelson recalled.

Having roomed with Bruin basketball standouts Earl Watson, now a

senior, and JaRon Rush, since departed, and having played against most of

the Bruin roster in morning pickup games, Nelson was talked into trying

out for Lavin as a walk on, by Watson and others.

“Earl is the guy who set everything up,” Nelson said. “I tried out and

I was able to hold my own.”

Nelson, a two-time All-CIF Southern Section performer who was twice

the Pacific Coast League and Newport-Mesa District Player of the Year in

basketball at Estancia, said his return to basketball has been

gratifying.

“Basketball was such a big part of my life. I remember the first time

I came to a UCLA basketball game as a student, I was jealous.”

Though he seldom sees the floor and he dressed only for home games,

Nelson said his teammates truly make him feel he’s a part of the team.

“It’s the best group of guys, the funniest group I’ve ever met,”

Nelson said. “The program is like one big family.”

Nelson still visits his family in Costa Mesa at least every other

weekend, a luxury he considers one of several pluses to attending UCLA.

“I’m having the time of my life,” said the psychobiology major, who is

on track to graduate next spring. “I love the school, I love the people,

I like the area, it’s close to home and I’ve made great friends.”

Before he leaves Westwood, however, Nelson said he just might take

another crack at volleyball.

“It’s a decision I’m going to have to make after basketball is over,”

he said. “The volleyball team is going to Europe over the summer and will

make two trips to Hawaii next season, which could be really fun. And, I’d

love to have the chance to compete for some playing time.”