In Episode 32 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we got the chance to sit down with Great Britain and Real Betis guard Luke Nelson.
The Worthing Thunder and Reading Rockets product has just turned professional in Spain’s ACB after a successful college career at UC Irvine which culminated in him ending up being named the Big West Conference Player of The Year in his Senior year.
Note that this interview was recorded before GB’s recent FIBA World Cup 2019 qualifying campaign.
In this hour episode, here from Luke Nelson on:
How he has found the transition to being a professional basketball player
Life off the court, downtime and living arrangements
Being in a foreign country and the language barriers
The process of signing with an agent and the involvement of his Dad in the process
How it was to do NBA workouts this summer
His lack of pre-game nerves and mindset before playing
How he reflects on his college career feeling both extremely proud and disappointed about it
Being named the Big West Conference Player of the Year in his Senior year
His connection with British fans and those following his career
Representing the Great Britain Senior Men over the summer of 2017 at EuroBasket
The mental side of basketball versus the physical side of play
Staying in touch with other British guys over the course of the season
The American game vs the European game
Being ‘clutch’ and where his late-game heroics come from
His early junior career in Worthing and deciding to go to Reading
Making the jump to UC Irvine directly from England instead of doing a prep year
The college recruitment process and other schools he was considering
Being an English basketball player at college and the perception from others
His thoughts on potentially playing in England and the BBL
His toughest British junior opponent
His most memorable moment from his career so far
What he would do if he was in charge of the British Basketball Federation
His feelings about the NBA and whether or not he still has an eye on the world’s top league
Advice he would give to a young British player looking to go pro
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
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