Nelson packs a flair. High

Sporting News, The, Dec 14, 1998 by Brick Oettinger

The two best point guard prospects in the high school senior class, 6-3 Brett Nelson of St. Albans (W. Va.) High and 6-2 1/2 Jason Williams of Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph's, both combine good size, quickness, outstanding playmaking talent and the ability to score via long jump shots or slashing drives. Their playing styles, however, are significantly different.

Florida-bound Nelson, who averaged 31 points and eight assists last season for 18-7 St. Albans, is a crowd pleaser with a flair for the spectacular, a la the legendary Pete Maravich. Buke-bound Williams, on the other hand, is a creative and extremely effective floor leader while being fundamentally sound and generally unsensational. Williams averaged 22 points and five assists as a junior for 24-4 St. Joseph's.

There also are plenty of other promising point guards in this class. Most (19 of the top 25) signed during the fall signing period, and another, 6-4 Tito Maddox of Compton (Calif.) High, gave Arizona State a non-binding commitment.

Interestingly, two universities each signed a pair of top 25 point guards. Arizona snared 5-11 Jason Gardner of Indianapolis North Central and 6-4 Gilbert Arenas of Van Nuys (Calif.) Grant, while Michigan corralled 6-3 1/2 Kevin Gaines of Las Vegas Clark and lanky 6-4 1/2 Jamal Crawford of Seattle Rainier Beach. Arenas, Gaines and Crawford are natural points who can move to the wing, if necessary.

Among the elite high school point guards, the best-name award has to go to 6-2 Virginia signee Majestic Mapp of Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond's. He's a particularly impressive defender and passer. His older brother, Scientific (no joke), was a good player but not at the Majestic level.

Among the senior point guards who narrowly missed the top 25 are unsigned 6-4 Shawn Harrington of Elgin (III.) High and 5-9 1/2 Victor Tarver of Baton Rouge (La.) Southern Lab. Others include Alabama-bound 6-3 Terrance Meade of Scottsboro (Ala.) High and Illinois-bound 6-1 Jerrance Howard of Peoria (Ill.) Central.