According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.

Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.

Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024

Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.

Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.

Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.

As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The U.S. Department of Justice said a former union chief based in Kansas City, Kan. pleaded guilty to charges connected with his involvement “in serious financial misconduct at an international labor organization.”

Tyler Brown, of Kansas City, Kan. served as chief of staff of the Boilermakers Union and special assistant to the International President of the Boilermakers Union. From 2013 through October 2022, the Justice Department said Brown “reported directly to the International President and carried out his directives.”

In the near decade that he served as union chief, Brown is accused of being involved “in numerous instances of unlawful misappropriation of union funds, including:

• Purchasing merchandise and hundreds of restaurant meals for the International President and his wife in their hometown that were not necessary to conduct union business or benefit the union or its members;
• Employing several family members of international officers who received several hundred thousand dollars in salary, reimbursed expenses, unearned vacations, and benefit contributions for minimal or no productive work; and
• Paying for dozens of international trips to Europe, Asia, and Australia for large entourages of international officers and employees of the Boilermakers Union, their families, and outside guests whose travel was not necessary to conduct union business or benefit the union or its members.

Sentencing in the case against Brown is set for Aug. 22. The Justice Department said he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

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After the portal acquisitions of Zeke Mayo, AJ Storr, and Rylan Griffen, Bill Self has again added to his roster, this time with an eye to the future.

The most notable addition is guard Noah Shelby, who recently announced that he will join the Kansas basketball team and immediately redshirt in 2024-2025. Shelby is a six foot three guard who played last season at Rice after one year at Vanderbilt.

Shelby was a top prospect coming out of high school, consistently ranked in the top 125 when he settled on Vanderbilt in the fall of 2022. Prior to that, he was a former AAU teammate of Kansas newcomer Rylan Griffen. He only played 14 games at Vandy before entering the portal and moving to Rice. Shelby averaged 3.9 points per game last season, starting just one game for the Owls but seeing playing time in 31 games overall.

He will be eligible to practice with Kansas this season, adding a high caliber player to the practice squad.

Kansas also added Will Thengvall as a walk-on for this upcoming season. Thengvall was a star in the Kansas high school ranks, averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds at Kapuan Mt. Carmel in Wichita on his way to a first team All-Metro selection. He was also named the Kansas 5A Player of the Year this past season. Overall, he’s a skilled guy who will help in practice immediately.

It doesn’t take a genius to see what Bill Self is doing with this roster. The starting lineup and key players are practically set, but more on that in a minute. Now, Self can trot out a team of walk ons that could be playing minutes on other division one teams to go up against any combination of regular rotation players that KU has. Practices are going to be brutal. This is in stark contrast to what they could do last season, as it seemed that Kansas had more walk-ons and redshirts than actual scholarship players. This almost certainly became a reality as the injuries mounted.

Kansas will most likely add one more player to its scholarship roster, either a returning Johnny Furphy (possible but unlikely) or another transfer target (Jaxon Robinson of BYU has been a hot name of late). Kansas is going to be loaded at every key position, and with the additions of Shelby and Thengvall, practices just got a whole lot tougher as well.