Reeves Nelson

Sophaur One[1] (born Reeves Bruce Nelson; September 18, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins from 2009 until 2011, when he was dismissed from the team.[2][3] He has also played in Mexico and Belgium.

Reeves Nelson
Nelson with UCLA in 2011
Personal information
Born (1991-09-18) September 18, 1991
Modesto, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolModesto Christian
(Modesto, California)
CollegeUCLA (2009–2011)
NBA draft2012 / Undrafted
Playing career2011–2015
PositionPower forward
Career history
2011–2012Žalgiris Kaunas
2013Los Angeles D-Fenders
2013–2014Delaware 87ers
2014Fuerza Guinda de Nogales
2014BC Kangoeroes
2015Maccabi Raanana
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-Pac-10 (2011)
  • Pac-10 All-Freshman team (2010)

Nelson played professionally for Žalgiris Kaunas in the Lithuanian Basketball League for five weeks before being released. He then declared for the 2012 NBA draft, but was not selected. Nelson then spent a pre-season with the Los Angeles Lakers before playing with the Los Angeles D-Fenders and Delaware 87ers in the NBA Development League (D-League).

College career

Nelson signed to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) after graduating from Modesto Christian High School in Modesto, California. He was called "the prototypical [UCLA coach] Ben Howland player" by ESPN.com. He joined the Bruins in 2009 as part of a five-player freshmen class that also included Tyler Honeycutt.[4]

Nelson finished his sophomore season as the Bruins' top scorer (13.9) and rebounder (9.1) in 2010–11, and he was named first team All-Pac-10. In his junior year, he played six games of the 2011–12 season before he was suspended by coach Ben Howland for being late to a team meeting and behavior that was considered insubordinate. Howland reinstated him two days later, but Nelson later missed a team flight on November 19, 2011. He was suspended again on December 6, and finally dismissed from the team three days later.[4]

In February 2012, a Sports Illustrated article portrayed Nelson as a bully on and off the court, who at times intentionally tried to injure his teammates. According to the article, Howland looked the other way and did not discipline Nelson for over two years.[4][5] In May 2012, Nelson filed a defamation lawsuit against Time Inc., the parent company of Sports Illustrated, seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, but it was thrown out of court in October 2012. The judge ruled that the suit interfered with freedom of speech rights of the magazine and writer, and the writer had a number of sources to corroborate the article.[6]

Professional career

On December 23, 2011, Nelson signed with Žalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania on a one-year deal (with the option of a second).[7] On January 31, 2012, he was released by Zalgiris after just six games.[8][9] In May 2012, he declared for the 2012 NBA draft.[10]

After going undrafted in the 2012 NBA draft, Nelson joined the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2012 NBA Summer League. On September 5, 2012, he signed with the Lakers.[11][12] However, he was later waived by the Lakers on October 20, 2012.[13]

On March 29, 2013, Nelson was acquired by the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[14]

On August 29, 2013, Nelson's rights were acquired by the Delaware 87ers in the 2013 NBA Development League Expansion Draft.[15] On December 1, 2013, he officially joined the 87ers.[16] On January 10, 2014, he was waived by the 87ers.[17]

In April 2014, he joined Fuerza Guinda de Nogales of Mexico for the rest of the 2014 CIBACOPA season. He left next month after 15 games.

On June 24, 2014, he signed with Kangoeroes Basket Willebroek of Belgium for the 2014–15 season.[18] On November 14, 2014, he was waived by the Kangoeroes after averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in four games.[19][20] On January 14, 2015, he signed with Maccabi Raanana in Israel,[20] where he had a brief two-game stint.[21] On February 24, he joined Panelefsiniakos B.C. in Greece.[22] He was released from the team, without appearing in any games, after failing to perform adequately in training.[23]

Career statistics
College statistics
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2009–10 UCLA 281423.4.647—.5215.7.4.7.711.1
2010–11 UCLA 343331.4.567.190.6209.11.6.4.413.9
2011–12 UCLA 6119.3.400.429.4294.51.3.5.75.7
Career 684826.7.584.250.5747.31.1.5.612.1

Personal life

Reeves filed a motion with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Borenstein on January 25, 2016 to change his name to Sophaur One. On April 12, 2016, his request was approved.[1]

References
  1. Former UCLA basketball player Reeves Nelson changes his name - Los Angeles Daily News / City News Service, April 12, 2016
  2. Pucin, Diane (December 9, 2011). "UCLA basketball team dismisses Reeves Nelson". LATimes.com. Archived from the original on December 10, 2011.
  3. Yoon, Peter (December 9, 2011). "UCLA dismisses Reeves Nelson". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  4. Dohrmann, George (March 5, 2012). "Special Report: Not the UCLA Way". SI.com. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012.
  5. Foster, Chris (February 29, 2012). "UCLA disputes Sports Illustrated depiction of basketball program". LATimes.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014.
  6. Foster, Chris (October 18, 2012). "Former UCLA player Reeves Nelson's lawsuit is thrown out of court". LATimes.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2014.
  7. "Zalgiris Kaunas signs rookie from UCLA Reeves Nelson". Sportando.com. December 23, 2011. Archived from the original on December 27, 2011.
  8. Zalgiris Kaunas release Reeves Nelson
  9. Allen, Percy (February 1, 2012). "Reeves Nelson gets the boot --- again". SeattleTimes.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
  10. Allen, Percy (May 3, 2012). "NBA early-entry list low on Pac-12 players". SeattleTimes.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2012.
  11. Markazi, Arash (September 5, 2012). "Reeves Nelson joins Lakers". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
  12. Holmes, Baxter (September 4, 2012). "Ex-UCLA forward Reeves Nelson to be invited to Lakers training camp". LATimes.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012.
  13. "Lakers Waive Aguilar and Nelson". NBA.com. October 20, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2013.
  14. D-Fenders Acquire Reeves Nelson
  15. NBA Development League Announced 2013 Expansion Draft Results
  16. Delaware 87ers Roster Transaction
  17. Delaware 87ers Acquire Kyrylo Fesenko Off Waivers
  18. "Brandon Bowdry, Devin Gibson, Reeves Nelson sign with Kangoeroes". Sportando.com. June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 24, 2014.
  19. "Reeves Nelson waived by Kangoeroes Willebroek". Sportando.com. November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  20. "Maccabi Raanana adds Nelson to their roster, ex Kangoeroes". eurobasket.com. January 14, 2015. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015.
  21. "Maccabi Raanana released Reeves Nelson". eurobasket.com. January 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
  22. "Προσθήκη Reeves Nelson". panelefsiniakosbc.com (in Greek). February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
  23. "Ήρθε και δεν... ακούμπησε ο Νέλσον" (in Greek). contra.gr. March 2, 2015. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
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