American University made the NCAA tourney last March for the 1st time in more than a decade, but they have a proud basketball history going back to the 1950s when they played at the D-2 level. 1 of their recent stars was Sa’eed Nelson, who graduated in 2020 as conference POY and the all-time leading scorer in school history before heading abroad to play pro basketball. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with American associate AD for external operations David Bierwirth about Sa’eed’s sensational stats and the legacy he left in DC.
Sa’eed was born/raised in New Jersey: what made him choose American? Our coach Mike Brennan was a standout Jersey PG himself, and our assistant Scott Greenman had played at Sa’eed’s high school St. Augustine Prep, so those 2 connections were very important. They were great examples for Sa’eed based on their relationships and playing/coaching experience.
He started all 30 games as a freshman, scored 14.9 PPG, and made the conference all-rookie team in 2017: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? A lot of that comes from the pedigree of the high school program he came up through. It is hard for a freshman PG to start right away on most college teams, but he did it to great success.
In the 2018 Patriot League tourney he scored a career-high 41 PTS/14-20 FG with 9 AST in a 7-PT loss to Lafayette: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? It was. We were playing from behind a little bit so we needed him to score a lot of PTS, but with Sa’eed, you never felt it was forced: he could really fill it up quickly. It was a phenomenal individual performance.
In 2020 he was named conference POY: what did it mean to him to receive such an outstanding honor? He was a very humble, individual/quiet leader: I recall his sentiment being that it was a team award…but he was clearly the best player in the league that year.
He never won a single postseason game despite averaging 25 PPG/4 APG/2.5 SPG in his 4 opening round Patriot League tourney losses: was he frustrated that his individual success never translated to wins in March? I am sure that he was frustrated, as was everyone in our program. We had a good squad that finished near the top of the league in 2019 and 2020, and a couple of those losses were at home, but it does not take away from his leadership or the entirety of those teams’ very good years.
His 2116 career PTS remains the most in school history: what was his secret for being a great scorer? He got better every year and was an iron man. He did not have great size but did have a great work ethic, so he would practice on finishing at the rim against taller players all the time.
His 36.9 career MPG is 1 of the best in conference history: how crucial was his endurance to his success? It was critical: he played for so many minutes and had a motor that never seemed to end. He had some injuries along the way and was exhausted during some timeouts, but he was a great natural athlete who would just turn it on during games.
His 2.3 career SPG is also 1 of the best in conference history: how did he balance his offense with his defense? That is what made his endurance consistency even more impressive because he did not take any time off while on the defensive end. He could read his opponents and had great anticipation in cutting off passing lanes. He also had very quick hands and a knack for a steal and layup on the other end before anyone realized what had happened.
Since going undrafted in 2020 he has spent the past several years playing pro basketball overseas: did you have any doubts that he was going to have a nice long pro career? No. He has a natural ability to score and can play both sides of the ball, so I thought that he was a lock to play pro basketball.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He must be considered part of AU’s Mount Rushmore. In addition to scoring, he is 3rd in career AST with 521, so he is a 1st-ballot Cassell Hall of Famer here once he becomes eligible: the rule is you become eligible 10 years after your final season. He exemplified everything that you could want out of a player to represent American University Basketball.
