PressBox recently chatted with Towson women’s basketball graduate student Lex Nelson about starting her college career at UMBC, her advice for younger players and more. The 5-foot-7 guard averaged 9.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Tigers in 2023-24. Nelson is a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduate of South Shore High School.
PressBox: How did you first become interested in basketball?
Lex Nelson: I’ve been playing basketball since I was 3. My twin brother, [Sion], was playing, and that motivated me to play. It became a competitive thing between us, just continued playing from there on.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
LN: I would say LeBron James just because I grew up watching him play. I just liked how he got everybody involved but also was very dominant.
PB: Why did you originally choose to go to UMBC?
LN: Actually, UMBC was the only D-I scholarship [offer] that I got coming out of high school. They were the only ones to give me a chance. It was during COVID, so my senior year had gotten cut short. They had come to a game to see me play before the season got cut short. They had given me an offer and I took it.
PB: You started 23 games as a freshman at UMBC. What did that experience teach you?
LN: It taught me a lot. It taught me how to learn on the fly. It taught me how to learn from experience and not somebody else’s experience. It taught me how to learn from my own experience. It also taught me how to handle pressure at a younger age. I learned how to stay patient, different things to look at, how to deal with different personalities that are older than me.
PB: Why did you choose to transfer to Towson?
LN: At first, I was majoring in biology. That didn’t work out for me over there and they didn’t have the major that I wanted, so I decided to go elsewhere. I also saw that Towson had the major I wanted and also they were competitive basketball-wise. It was a step higher for me and I felt like I could excel and get better here.
PB: What’s your favorite memory from your time at Towson so far?
LN: It would be when we beat DePaul in Florida [in November 2022]. I just remember going into that game, we had lost both the Pitt and Maryland games [in the Fort Myers Tip-Off], so we were trying to get a W. I just remember us being excited after beating them.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
LN: I would probably say Taiye [Johnson]. Me and Taiye were really close. We’re still close [even after she moved on]. In Florida, actually, something happened to her and I gave her advice not to do it. After that incident happened, we both laughed about it. I feel like that will be a memory that I will cherish for a lifetime.
PB: Who did you look up to early in your college career?
LN: I wouldn’t say I really looked up to any [player] because I was starting as a freshman at UMBC. I had to mature quick, way faster than a regular freshman. I would probably say that I was more so looking up to my coaches, in a sense.
PB: What advice would you give to younger players?
LN: My advice to them would be never get too high, never get too low. Just keep working and stay disciplined. Discipline is going to get you through it, even when you don’t want to do it and times are hard. Staying disciplined is key, staying consistent with that.
PB: What are your goals for after basketball, whenever it ends?
LN: Whenever basketball ends, my goal is to be a coach, possibly, and definitely help those after me and make a meaningful impact on kids’ lives. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll try to be a teacher and help others.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Towson Athletics