Senior forward Chelsea Nelson enters her final season for women’s basketball at NC State after a great past season, 23-9 overall and 12-4 in the ACC. Nelson has high hopes for her team this year.
“Hopefully we prepare to go to the NCAA [tournament] again and then also the ACC tournament,” Nelson said. “…Come out on top in both of those tournaments.”
That goal is reachable but head coach Wes Moore makes a point of acknowledging that the team has room to grow and improve before the tournament with the fast approaching exhibition game against Lee University.
“We have a lot of experience to replace, especially on the perimeter we’re very young. So we’re going to have to grow up in a hurry, toughen up in a hurry,” Moore said. “But I think we have some talent, I like our talent. But they’re young and we have a lot of work to do still.”
Nelson herself has been on a long journey here at NC State as a part of the women’s basketball team for the past four years.
“It’s crazy just to know that I’m a senior now,” Nelson said. “The four years go by extremely fast, and it’s in a blink of an eye. And it’s really exciting, but it’s bittersweet.”
Every year, Nelson continues to improve her game in all areas, from rebounding to shooting. In her freshman year, Nelson alongside then-teammate Ashley Williams received NC State’s co-Sixth Man of the Year award.
“I play with a chip on my shoulder a little bit because I’m undersized in that area. I just work hard and I know I have to work harder than most post players because I’m undersized,” Nelson said. “It’s all about working hard and having a focused mindset.”
In her junior campaign, Nelson reached a personal career goal in rebounds. A career high in both offensive and defensive rebounding, 69 and 123 respectively, for a total of 192 rebounds. Her shooting percentage also increased to .567 in her junior season.
“I’d say they’re both my strength. I feel like rebounding is second nature so I don’t really think about it as much as shooting.” Nelson said. “I’m still working on that and I want to have a great percentage because I am undersized so when I get [the ball], I want to be able to shoot it so when they come up I can just pump fake and drive to the basket. It just helps me be more versatile.”
Moore echoes Nelson’s improvements since she enrolled at NC State. However, her hardworking persona didn’t start in Raleigh. Her effort goes back as far as when her father brought her to college practices at UT-Chattanooga according to Moore, who coached at Chattanooga.
“I spent 15 years at UT-Chattanooga, her dad had played there, obviously before I was there, but because of that connection even when I was there, he used to bring Chelsea to practice every now and again,” Moore said. “I’ve known about her for a long time and she’s special to me. A great person and just plays so hard and that’s all you can ask for as a coach. She checks all the boxes so to speak.”
This season as one of two seniors, Nelson plans on stepping up as a leader and improving her verbal leadership skills.
“[I need to] be more communicative. I feel I’ve led by action, just always doing what I’ve got to do on the court,” Nelson said. “Because last year with our four seniors, I wasn’t as communicative when we had them.”
Moore agreed with Nelson being more vocal this season as she becomes a role model for her teammates. Moore also expresses hopes and expectations for Nelson in this upcoming season.
“Chelsea’s worked extremely hard,” Moore said. “I’m happy for her and proud of her because she’s really put the time in to improve her skills and her game. Obviously, we’re going to rely on her heavily. We’re excited about having her inside and even extending her game a little bit out on the perimeter. If everybody played as hard as Chelsea, we’d probably never lose a game.”
