Coach Spencer Nelson has been “home run hire” for the Aggies

In 1999, a then-18 year-old freshman Spencer Nelson arrived in Logan to begin his college basketball playing career at Utah State. An LDS mission, a medical redshirt season, three Big West Conference championships and two NCAA tournament appearances later, he became recognized as one of the greatest Aggies of all time.

Now, 12 years removed from his days of terrorizing opponents on the court and causing headaches for opposing coaches, Nelson has returned to the Spectrum.

This time, though, he’s on the sidelines wearing a suit and tie.

In August of 2016, Nelson was hired by USU head coach Tim Duryea as an assistant coach for the Aggies. A love for Utah State, along with a wealth of knowledge and skills acquired during his playing days have led him to be what Duryea called a “home run hire” for the program.

“Being able to be back involved with basketball at Utah State is really, really awesome,” Nelson said. “It kind of feels like coming home.”

Nelson’s name is littered across USU record books. In his four-year career at Utah State, he made his way into the all-time top-20 in many categories including points, assists, rebounds and blocks. Nelson also had a .617 field-goal percentage at USU, the third-highest of any Aggie player ever.

A 6-foot-8, versatile big man, Nelson did it all for USU. In 2005, he was one of 16 former USU basketball players named to the All-Century team, and in 2015 his legacy was even further solidified when he was inducted into the Utah State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Following his playing career at Utah State, Nelson decided to try his luck in the NBA. He signed a free agent deal with the Utah Jazz, where he was invited to participate in Summer League and training camp with the team. Though Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan often praised him for his work ethic and leadership ability, Nelson was one of two final cuts from the team.

After his brief stint in the NBA, Nelson decided to take his talents overseas to play professionally in Europe, a decision that changed his life.

“Being able to go overseas and get paid to play basketball and being able to see the world was a dream,” he said. “I went over single, and I came back married with three children, so obviously it was a big growing point in my life.”

A 10-year stint in Europe led Nelson to play for four different teams in Germany, Italy, Greece and Spain. Though he was thousands of miles from Logan, he always remained in the loop with what was going on at Utah State, and in 2010-2011 he was even able to team up with former Aggie teammate Jaycee Carroll.

“We always kept in touch throughout the years,” said Duryea, who was a USU assistant coach for 15 years, and coached Nelson during his playing days. “He’s a basketball junkie, so am I. We’d talk about our program, we’d talk about the teams he’s playing on. When he came back in the summers we’d always get together.”

In 2015 Nelson decided to wrap up his professional playing career, bringing his young family back to Utah, and trading in his basketball jersey for a suit and tie. He accepted a job in Salt Lake City with a private equity company where he was able to put his M.B.A. degree to use. In order to “scratch the itch” of basketball while working in the corporate world, he also took a job with a local radio station, helping out with the Utah Jazz pre-game and post-game broadcasts.

Less than a year later, Nelson’s life again took a drastic turn when then-assistant USU coach Chris Jones left to accept a similar position at the University of Utah. Duryea, just a year into his head coaching career, had a vacancy to fill on his staff and he turned to Nelson for help.

“I knew that when his pro career was over that he would want to be involved in basketball,” Duryea said. “I had no idea that I’d be the head coach and that we’d have a staff opening. All those things kind of fell in place like it was probably meant to be.”

Nelson agreed.

“I’m sure he went over 4,000 other candidates and I was 4,001,” he joked. “It was a unique opportunity and I’m very grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to come. It just kind of felt right and it was a good fit.”

Upon his return to Logan, Nelson hit the ground running. He assumed immediate responsibilities with recruiting and opponent scouting, and put his basketball expertise to use, helping coach the defense and work with the team’s post player.

The success that he had during his playing career at Utah State has provided what Duryea called “instant credibility” for Nelson among the players. He is just the third former player in program history to return in a coaching position.

“It’s nice to have someone who connects to both older coaches but also the younger kids,” said USU redshirt freshman forward Klay Stall. “When you go in the training room, there’s his picture right next to the door playing against Kansas, and that’s pretty cool.”

Upon assuming his position as a coach, Nelson immediately formed relationships and gained respect from many players in the program.

“He’s like a father figure on this team for me,” Stall said. “He’s always there to pick you up, he gives me advice and tells stories on his playing days. He’s pushing me to be the best basketball player that I can be.”

While Nelson’s impact in coaching has been immeasurable, Duryea said that the biggest asset that he brings to the table is his ability to relate to recruits. Nelson spends much of his time on the road, scouting and trying to convince prospective future Aggies to attend his alma mater.

“Who can tell a better story about Utah State than Spencer Nelson?” Duryea said. “Here’s a kid from Pocatello, Idaho, came to Utah State, is on the all-century team, got his degree in finance, did an internship on Wall Street, played 10 years professionally, was the last cut of the Jazz, and all because he came to Utah State. Who can tell a better story than that?”

Nelson’s first year as a coach hasn’t gone as smoothly in terms of on-the-court success as he or the team probably would have liked. The Aggies have spent much of the season in the bottom half of Mountain West standings, and appear on track to their first losing season since 1992-93.

But that hasn’t deterred him.

“It will get intense around here sometimes, but he’s always the one person who will have a smile on his face. He’s always been positive,” Stall said.

With nearly a full season of coaching experience under his belt, having seen the highs and lows of coaching college basketball, Nelson is sold. Though his playing days are behind him, and he’s no longer an 18 year-old incoming freshman, the Aggie legend hopes to start a new legacy to leave behind.

Only this time, as a coach.

“Let’s stay here at Utah State for 30 years and win some conference championships,” Nelson said. “I love it here and I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here and hopefully we can be here for a long time. That would be great.”