We continue our brief profiles of each member of the 2010-11 Creighton women’s basketball team. Join us each weekday from now until the women’s season opener against Liberty at the Wolfpack Invitational for an introduction to this year’s Bluejays, from freshmen to seniors.
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Jim Flanery famously recruits local players; seven of the 2010-11 Creighton Bluejays hail from Nebraska, and three others call Iowa home. Two are sisters from Omaha; senior center Kellie Nelson and her freshman sister, Sarah.
Sarah Nelson comes to Creighton after an All-State high school career
But what’s better than recruiting local talent? Securing commitments from arguably the best players in the state. The younger Nelson definitely qualifies for that consideration. A three-time Class A All-State honoree, Nelson is the all-time scoring leader at Omaha Westside High School. She set a school record with 467 points during her senior season, good for 19.5 points per game to go along with 9.6 rebounds. The World-Herald named her the honorary captain of the All-State team last year.
When asked to describe her game, Nelson said she can play both the power forward and center positions. “I’m able to post up and play outside a little bit, too. I’m probably best at rebounding, and I’ve actually improved on my outside shooting a lot.”
You can bet Flan and the Creighton coaching staff could help but grin while watching Nelson flourish throughout her high school career. Nelson committed to Creighton last August, spurning Nebraska among others in part because she wanted to play with Kellie, her sister and best friend.
“I love being able to play with her [Kellie], and the dynamic between the two of us is great,” Nelson said. “Having her as a teammate now is just an added bonus; she is really one of my best friends. She is such a big help to me on the court.”
Nelson’s comfort with the Creighton program was a key selling point, too. “I’ve been coming to games all throughout high school and seeing my sister play has been great,” she told WBR. “I’ve also become really close with a lot of my teammates even before coming to campus. This is such a great program and being a part of it is an amazing experience.”