LOS ANGELES — A couple weeks ago, Joel Nelson achieved a pinnacle moment in his high school
basketball career, helping the Devils Lake Firebirds earn a North Dakota boys state championship for the first time in 99 years. The 6-foot-6 high school junior felt a similar rush Thursday night watching older brother Grant Nelson on a national stage. Grant led the
Alabama Crimson Tide to a victory against perennial power North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. “I was getting goosebumps the whole time," Joel Nelson said. Grant scored 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots in an 89-87 victory against the top-seeded Tar Heels at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. His performance lifted the Crimson Tide to their first Elite Eight appearance since 2004. That was also the first time Joel got to see his brother play in person at Alabama. “It was crazy," Joel said. ADVERTISEMENT “It’s not like we haven’t seen that before," added Justin Thomas, Grant's older brother. "That’s kind of the guy we’ve been used to seeing forever.” The No. 4-seeded Crimson Tide next play No. 6 seed Clemson at 7:49 p.m. Saturday in
Los Angeles with a trip to the Final Four on the line. The game is being televised on TBS. “This is a cool ride to be able to follow his career," Thomas said. Devils Lake (N.D.) High School junior Joel Nelson, right, takes a selfie with former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young after Alabama's Sweet Sixteen victory against North Carolina on Thursday, March, 28, 2024, in Los Angeles. Joel older brother Grant Nelson starred for the Crimson Tide in the victory at Crypto.com Arena. Contributed photo After Thursday's victory, Joel took a selfie with former Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, a No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick who is now with the Carolina Panthers. Young was seated a few rows in front of Grant's cheering section, which was about 15 rows from the court and across from the Alabama bench, according to Thomas. “We had a great view of that second half," Thomas said. Thomas added NBA legend Robert Horry, who also played basketball for Alabama, was seated near the court in front of where Grant's family and friends. Former North Carolina and
Los Angeles Lakers star James Worthy was also in the arena. “You definitely felt like you were at the center of the sports universe for a night," Thomas said. Grant, a 6-foot-11 forward, was the main attraction of that universe, especially in the second half when he scored 19 of his points, including a 3-point play that gave Alabama an 87-85 lead with 38 seconds remaining. ADVERTISEMENT “It was electric," Joel said. “When Grant was taking over. It was very cool. It was fun to watch.” Alabama Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson (2) blocks North Carolina Tar Heels guard RJ Davis (4) in the second half Thursday, March 28, 2024, in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Thomas said there was a group of around 10 family and
Friends at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night, and he expects a similar contingent for the Elite Eight matchup with Clemson. “It’s a quick turnaround, but one of the good things about Grant is he’s really level-headed," Thomas said. Grant graduated from Devils Lake High School in 2020 and played his first three college seasons at North Dakota State before transferring to Alabama prior to this season. He delivered his season-high point total and his best overall performance for the Crimson Tide when the team needed it most against a storied program like North Carolina. “You can argue it was the biggest game in program history," Thomas said. The Nelsons have had a notable past couple weeks, starting with Joel playing for a state championship team. Leif Olson, Grant's and Joel's older brother, recently won a men's javelin competition for the University of Southern
California with the fourth-longest throw in program history. Leif took first place at the Ron & Sharlene Allice Trojan Invitational with a mark of 228 feet (69.5 meters) in his first meet at USC. Prior to USC, Leif was at Lake Region in Devils Lake and Minot State (N.D.) University. He was also in the crowd Thursday night. “This has been an awesome month for the Nelson family," said Derek Gathman, who was Grant's high school basketball coach at Devils Lake. ADVERTISEMENT Gathman, who no longer is the head coach at Devils Lake, watched Thursday's game from Proz Sports Bar in Devils Lake with a group that included his former assistant coaches with the Firebirds. “It was fun to see him on that big stage and being so successful," said Gathman, a 2004 Devils Lake High School graduate. “We’re just so proud of him and what he’s done.” During the postgame press conference, Grant gave a shout out to Devils Lake and referenced playing basketball at the park every day. Gathman remembers seeing Grant regularly at the outdoor basketball courts at Prairie View Elementary School in Devils Lake. Gathman said the court was often referred to as "The Graveyard." “That guy was playing on those hoops all the time," Gathman said. “He was always finding time to play basketball.” More from Eric Peterson 'North Dakota stand up!': Devils Lake's Grant Nelson, a former Bison, leads Alabama to Elite Eight 15h ago Dragons forward and former Fargo Davies standout Owen Hektner enters the transfer portal 22h ago After dramatic semifinal victory, MSU Mankato vying for 1st D-II women's basketball title since 2009 23h ago Michael Widmer was a high school classmate of Grant's and now goes to college at Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He watched Thursday's game on television with a small gathering of friends. “It’s a weird experience," Widmer said. “I have always seen the NCAA tournament and not even compared that to the same basketball I ever played. It was really cool seeing Grant out there performing at that level.” Grant became the first player since UCLA's Kevin Love in 2008, and the first SEC player since Florida's Joakim Noah in 2006, to post at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in an NCAA tournament game. ADVERTISEMENT Grant missed two free throws with 0.9 seconds remaining, but blocked Harrison Ingram's three-quarters court desperation heave as time expired. “It was a very fitting ending. I would have preferred he just made the two free throws," Thomas said with a laugh. Share Share this article News reporting News reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags GRANT NELSON PREP SPORTS BISON MEDIA ZONE BISON MEN'S BASKETBALL DEVILS LAKE SUBSCRIBERS ONLY By Eric Peterson Peterson covers college athletics for The Forum, including Concordia College and Minnesota State Moorhead. He also covers the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks independent
baseball team and helps out with North Dakota State
Football coverage. Peterson has been working at the newspaper since 1996. Twitter