Nelson's Lasting Record of Success in Varsity Basketball
For over a decade, Nelson has worked tirelessly to cultivate the talents of dedicated student-athletes.
There are 336 players listed in 247Sports Composite list of the top high school basketball recruits in the country. Of those 336, all but 15 have committed to a division one university for basketball, and out of those 15, three are already going professional. This shortlist of highly publicized recruits is one obstacle that Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Tom Nelson said makes his job even more difficult.
While there are many more elite basketball players than the ones on that list, coaches assert that the mass amounts of publicity set aside for the absolute top athletes leave the rest starved for recognition.
The problem is further compounded if those same athletes do not have the opportunities to showcase their abilities at the next level. If the players attend a small school or do not participate in a high-ranking team, problems can arise when attempting to garner attention.
Nelson must beat these odds when helping the elite athletes on his team get recruited to a D1 university.
The School’s small size places it in Division IV, the smallest division of the New England Preparatory Athletic Council (NEPSAC). Despite this, Nelson has managed to get many Brimmer basketball players to the division 1 level, with several of those players having been recruited.
Nelson even managed to help cultivate the talent of Providence College Basketball Star A.J Reeves ’18 enough for him to win the Massachusetts Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year award.
“The best quality of all our players is just how hard they work,” Nelson said. “The effort they put forward on the court for both themselves and the team as a whole brings out the best values of the team. I don’t count success in terms of wins and losses.”
“Success to me is competing at the highest level in one of the best leagues in the country and having our guys going on to college being prepared both academically and athletically."
While Nelson has developed a tradition of excellence at the school, he admits that it took a lot of effort to get to that stage.
“When I came, I didn’t want to go down the same road that some of the teams in our league go down with postgraduate players and things like that,” Nelson said. “This is a school with kids from Pre-K all the way through grade 12, so we want to have more of a sense of community. So, I set out to make sure that I found student-athletes that could fit the Brimmer Community and feel a part of this place, unlike how things were when I first got here.”
When Nelson began his work for the school Athletics Program, his colleagues noted the impact he made.
“I think Mr. Nelson has had a huge impact on this program, not just in terms of basketball and recruiting great young men who are very good students, but he gets many of those kids to also participate in other sports like cross-country and baseball in the spring,” Athletic Director Jeff Gates said when asked about Nelson’s impact on the athletic program.
“He also coaches middle school kids in the fall, and I think his impact around the entire athletics program with helping kids and talking to kids when they have issues and concerns has been great,” Gates said. “Overall, he has a huge impact that some people may not see, but I see as the athletic director every day.”
Nelson coaches Ju' Quann Mills '17 mid-game. Mills went on to play basketball at Babson College. Photo courtesy of David Barron
Nelson coaches Ju' Quann Mills '17 mid-game. Mills went on to play basketball at Babson College. Photo courtesy of David Barron
Current players and alumni note that Nelson’s actions as a coach have left an indelible impact on them, beyond just an impact at the school.
Quinn Nielson ’23, who is about to begin his second season on the Boys Varsity Basketball Team, spoke on the impact that Nelson has had.
“As a person, Tom has helped me to work a lot harder and become a better man in general,” Nielson said. “As a coach, he’s just committed a lot of time to me and helped me to become so much better than I ever thought I could become with his coaching methods every day.”
According to his team and colleagues, Nelson shows no signs of faltering when it comes to elevating his players to the next level.
With the upcoming basketball season on the horizon, Nelson looks for continued success.
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