By Robert Wilson
Ridgeland High senior guard Phil Nelson is former Madison-Ridgeland Academy and current Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard’s godbrother.
And last week, Nelson had a game similar to what Hubbard, Mississippi’s all-time career scoring leader, had many times during his high school and college career.
The 6-foot-1 Nelson had a career-high 31 points to lead Ridgeland to a 100-43 victory over Holmes County Central.
For his outstanding performance, Nelson has been named the first Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Boys Basketball Player of the Week.
Nelson made 13 of 16 shots from the field (81.3 percent), and 4 of 5 from 3-point range (80 percent) and had eight rebounds and three assists against Holmes County Central.
Nelson – a member of the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team – is averaging 19.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.7 steals and shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range and has led Ridgeland to a 10-2 record this season.
“Phil had a dominant performance on the court last week,” Ridgeland coach Terron McIntyre said. “He scored the ball from all three levels and rebounded the ball well. Phil has put in a lot of work in the offseason and summer, and it reflects in his season thus far.
“Phil is a dynamic combo guard who can do it all. He is a player that all coaches would love to coach.”
Nelson averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals and helped Ridgeland to a 25-10 record and the MHSAA Class 6A state runner-up finish and was second team on the All-Metro Jackson team last season as a junior.
Nelson has offers from Jackson State, Mississippi College, Copiah-Lincoln Community College, East Central CC, Holmes CC, Itawamba CC, Jones County Junior College, Meridian CC, Mississippi Gulf Coast CC, Northeast Mississippi CC, and Pearl River CC.
Nelson is the son of Alesha Causey Nelson and Philemon Nelson. Alesha is a graduate of Amite County High and Alcorn State. She played basketball at Amite County and Alcorn State and is a member of the Alcorn State Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame. Philemon attended McGavock High in Tennessee and was in the marching band.
Nelson’s godbrother is Hubbard. Hubbard scored 4,367 points in his career at MRA, breaking a record that stood for 37 years. He is now sophomore starting guard at MSU and is averaging a team-high 19 points and has led the Bulldogs to an 8-1 record and a No. 25 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.
Nelson’s godparents are Jason and Betty Hubbard, Josh’s parents. Alesha worked for Jason and Jason and Betty became Phil’s godparents when he was born. Phil and Josh have been like brothers their whole life, played a lot of basketball together and spent a lot of time with the Hubbard family over the years.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a boys basketball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.
