By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A strong case could be made for Don Nelson being ranked among the top five Iowa men’s basketball players of all time.

Never mind that he won five NBA titles as a member of the Boston Celtics, had his No. 19 retired by the franchise in 1978, won 1,338 games as an NBA head coach, which ranks second all-time, or that he was inducted in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012; just what Nelson accomplished in 72 games as a Hawkeye makes the Rock Island, Illinois native something special, and a true Hawkeye legend.

If you were to pick Iowa’s all-time starting five by position, Nelson would deserve serious consideration for one of the two forward spots.

And though he was listed as a center at Iowa, the 6-foot-6 Nelson played more like a point-forward, as was also the case in the NBA.

Sadly, we lost Don Nelson on Sunday as he passed away at the age of 86, marking the end of a life well-lived and rich in success and milestones.

Nelson was good for basketball and vice versa.

As for Iowa’s all-time starting five; how about Nelson and Keegan Murray at the forward positions, Luka Garza at center, Roy Marble at shooting guard and Ronnie Lester at point guard?

One of the most incredible things about Nelson’s Hawkeye career is that his statistics have withstood the test of time.

He still is ranked 16th on Iowa’s all-time scoring list with 1,552 points, and while that might not seem incredible to some, the 15 players ranked above him all played in no fewer than 97 games, while Nelson played in just 72 games over three seasons.

Iowa’s top five scorers of all time are in order, Luka Garza (2,306 points); Roy Marble (2,116); Jordan Bohannon (2,003); Aaron White (1,859) and Acie Earl (1,779).

Garza played in 127 games, while Roy Marble, Bohannon, White and Earl played in 134, 179, 140 and 116 games, respectively.

Nelson played in 24 games in each of his three seasons as a Hawkeye from 1959 to 1962.

To help put that number in perspective, Iowa now plays 20 conference games and over 30 games overall in a regular season.

Iowa played 37 games this past season, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 while finishing 24-13 overall under first-year head coach Ben McCollum.

That’s more than half of the games in which Nelson played for Iowa.

There also wasn’t a 3-point shot when Nelson played for Iowa or when he averaged at least 10 points per game in every season in the NBA from 1968 to 1975.

In his very first game as a Hawkeye, Nelson served notice that he was special by scoring 33 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in an 86-84 victory over defending Division II national champion Evansville.

As a junior, Nelson was the only starter for Iowa that wasn’t declared academically ineligible midway through the 1960-61 season.

And yet despite losing four of five starters, Iowa would go on to finish 18-6 overall and 10-4 in the Big Ten with Nelson leading the way with his 23.7 per-game scoring average.

The 1960-61 squad earned the nickname the “Hustlin” Hawks” as Nelson played the entire 40 minutes in most games, unless he fouled out.

One of his best performances came against Ohio State on Feb. 18, 1961 as Nelson scored 25 points in a 62-61 loss against the top-ranked and unbeaten Buckeyes while playing the entire 40 minutes.

He set the school’s single-season scoring record with 570 points and helped the depleted Hawkeyes finish second in the Big Ten and No. 8 in the final national rankings.

Nelson basically put the 1960-61 team on his broad shoulders and carried it to to heights that few probably expected after losing four starters at midseason.

It might just be the greatest individual season in program history based on the difficult circumstances.

Nelson would go on to set a new single-season scoring record as senior with 572 points, and he finished his Hawkeye career averaging a double-double in scoring (21.2) and rebounds (10.9).

He was also a three-time team MVP at Iowa and would go on to score 10,898 points in the NBA while playing for the Chicago Zephrys from 1962-63, the Los Angeles Lakers from 1963-65 and the Boston Celtics from 1965 to 1975.

Nelson led the NBA in field-goal percentage in 1974–75 at age 34, the oldest and shortest player to do so. He was also considered one of  the best “sixth men” ever to play in the NBA.

However, as great as Nelson was as a player, he was arguably a better head coach as he was named the NBA Coach of the Year  in 1983, 1985 and 1992.

After retiring as a player, Nelson was reportedly considering three options: selling cars, become an NBA referee or accept an assistant’s job under then Milwaukee Bucks head coach Larry Costello.

Nelson seems to have made the right choice as he clearly showed while coaching four different NBA teams that he had a gift for coaching and for leading and inspiring young men.

He devised a fast-paced style of play that was called “Nellie Ball,” that was highly successful and highly entertaining for both his players and for the fans.

If you were to pick an Iowa men’s basketball player who had the biggest impact on the game throughout his adult life, a strong case could be made for Don Nelson, perhaps the strongest case.

Nelson, who was named in 1996 as one the NBA’s 10 Best Coaches of all time, is the only coach with 1,000-plus wins and multiple NBA championships as a player, where he won five titles with the Boston Celtics (1966, 1968, 1969, 1974 and 1976).

So as a player/head coach, who amongst former Hawkeyes was better than Don Nelson?

The answer is nobody.

Nelson left Iowa in 1962 just a few hours short of earning a degree in physical education.

He would go on to fulfill his missing credit hours, but he still lacked student-teaching credits that was needed to graduate.

However, Iowa eventually decided that Nelson’s lifetime of teaching through his NBA coaching would fulfill that requirement and invited him to the graduation ceremony in 2012. He attended and received his diploma with over 45 family members and friends accompanying him.

During much of his latter years, Nelson lived in Maui where he had a farm that grew coffee, flowers and cannabis. He also hosted local poker games with celebrities, including Willie Nelson.

Don Nelson certainly made the most out of his life.

He was born with terrific basketball ability and worked hard to maximize his potential.

Nelson will be missed, but never forgotten as one of Iowa’s all-time greats.

RIP.