Luke Nelson, a 6-3 guard who signed a national letter of intent with UC Irvine in November, has been named Player of the Year for the top division in England.

He also was recently named England Basketball U18 Player of the Year for the third consecutive season in his respective age group.

Nelson averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists to help lead the English U-18 team to promotion to Division A last summer and earned all-tournament honors. As a member of the U-16 team in 2011, he averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in helping that English team to a promotion to Division A.


From England Basketball:

VCARS.co.uk D1 Player of the Year

The youngest person ever to be selected as Player of the Year for Division 1, Luke Nelson, 17, has taken the lead role as point guard for Reading Rockets and has done remarkably well, a good omen for the future of British basketball.  Nelson averaged double figures in scoring for Reading all season and has come up with some huge plays, including a buzzer-beating, three-point shot in the playoff quarterfinals that sent Rockets into this weekend's Final Fours.  He will also represent England this summer at the European Championship for U18 Men (Division A) and 2012 was the third straight year where he was chosen as England Player of the Year for his respective age group.

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