Jameer Nelson has achieved some amazing things in life since leaving Chester High for St. Joseph’s. Later this month, he’ll score his greatest victory yet.
Nelson, the all-time leading scorer in the history of Saint Joseph’s basketball, will be among the nearly 2,200 graduating students at Saint Joseph’s University’s 167th commencement exercises on Saturday, May 19.
Nelson will officially receive a Bachelor of Science in Sociology during the undergraduate ceremony, 14 years after being selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
While at St. Joe’s, Nelson and the Hawks reached the NCAA Tournament three times, culminating with a perfect 27-0 regular season and a run to the Elite Eight in the 2003-04 season.
That season, Nelson was the consensus National Player of the Year, winning the John R. Wooden Award and the Naismith College Player of the Year Award.
“We are proud to send another successful class into the world,” says Mark C. Reed, Ed.D., president of the University. “Our graduates are poised for leadership. They continually meet and exceed all expectations set for them, and I am certain they will continue to do so as they represent Saint Joseph’s to the world at large.”Nelson will now leave a lasting legacy at St. Joe’s, as his name is already on the men’s basketball locker room because of his donations.
“Our goal is to be a national leader in support for student-athletes,” Dr. Reed says. “Jameer, like all of our student-athletes, recognizes and appreciates that education is essential.”
“Saint Joseph’s has been a big part of my life since I was first recruited to play there,” Nelson says. “It was important to me to finish work on my degree and to set an example for my own children and young student-athletes who look up to me.”
“Jameer has, once again, moved me to tears,” says Phil Martelli, head men’s basketball coach at Saint Joseph’s. “His drive and determination to become a graduate of SJU is extraordinary but pales in comparison to the why – for his children, for young people he supports through the Pete and Jameer Nelson Foundation, and as an example to the young guys in the NBA. May 19 will be his greatest accomplishment. I am blessed to have Jameer in my life, and I know that I join an army of Hawks, past and present, in standing to congratulate him on this milestone.”
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