Jameer Nelson

For Jameer Nelson, it was the only thing to do. The Orlando Magic guard changed the name of his local high school tournament to the Pete Nelson Classic in honor of his late father, Floyd "Pete" Nelson. The fourth annual event runs tomorrow and Friday at Widener University, and Saturday at Gwynedd-Mercy College. "This is obviously a very tough time for our family. But the people in Chester loved my father," said Nelson, a Chester High product who attended St. Joseph's University.

IF YOU CHECKED out the NBA schedule, you might wonder how Jameer Nelson would be able to make the 10th Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Fame Celebration on Nov. 5. Unless the lockout ends soon, the 2004 National Player of the Year will be able to make the ceremony, instead of playing that night for Orlando in Washington. After a sensational career at Chester High, which he led to the AAAA state championship, Nelson, who holds the St. Joe's career marks for points (2,094), assists (713)

Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson entered last night's game with the 76ers at the Wachovia Center in a different role. After starring at Chester and St. Joseph's University, Nelson returned home as a full-fledged NBA starter. He has been given the ball to run the Magic's offense after the trade of Steve Francis on Feb. 22 to the New York Knicks. Nelson did not immediately join the starting lineup. He missed 20 games with a sprained right foot and didn't return until March 3. The following game, on March 4 in a 110-94 loss at Denver, Nelson was in the starting lineup for good.

Tucked behind an assistant coach's desk in a cramped office at St. Joseph's Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, Jawan Carter was talking recently about how his path to Hawk Hill was largely influenced by another 5-foot-11 point guard who was also raised on Chester's hard-scrabble streets, when a sweat-soaked, broad-shouldered figure walked in to take a blow from a pickup game. Carter lowered his head reverentially as Jameer Nelson aimed a friendly barb at him. "He's not full-blooded Chester," said Nelson, the unforgettable St. Joe's guard who was college basketball's player of the year in 2004 before moving on to the NBA's Orlando Magic.

Jameer Nelson heard the voices of his Chester coaches echoing in his ears all summer. Shoot the ball. Shoot the ball. Nelson rarely tried to score as a sophomore, and Chester's coaches, led by head man Fred Pickett, let him know about it. So, Nelson spent the summer practicing jumpers. He still is unselfish, but Chester's junior point guard doesn't mind lofting a shot now and again. "Whatever the team needs," Nelson said. "That's what I'll do. " Nelson had one option with two seconds left in overtime in Chester's PIAA Class AAAA semifinal battle with Hatboro-Horsham last night.

From the pandemic poverty, to the drugs and prostitution, to the gap-toothed city blocks of blighted buildings and empty lots - there are plenty of reasons to despair in Chester. And then there is basketball star Jameer Nelson. The elusive point guard with the relentless work ethic has, for years, been a rare source of pride for this struggling community. It started in March 2000, when he led Chester High to the state championship. It continued in college. In April, after he carried St. Joseph's University to an undefeated regular season and was named college player of the year, Chester handed him the keys to the city.

It's not true that coach Phil Martelli handed Jameer Nelson a basketball and the reins to his team the September day when the freshman point guard was on his way to his first class at St. Joseph's quaint Jesuit campus on City Avenue. Martelli didn't wait so long. He did that on the giddy day last year when Nelson informed Martelli he was taking his talents from Chester High to Hawk Hill. At last, or for the first time since the Rashid Bey era ended three seasons ago, the Hawks have someone who can give them symmetry where there often has been chaos.

Dan Dickau doesn't seem to have a lot of patience for the approach to basketball taken by many players, and the splendid senior point guard for Gonzaga isn't reluctant to say so. Too selfish. Too showy. Too mouthy. Too many guys who seem oblivious to the four other players on the floor. "I think the ability to pass the ball is something that really gets overlooked," Dickau said. "I mean, you watch some teams struggle to even get the ball into the post, or out to the wing, or reverse the ball, or move the ball to different areas on the same possession.

Jameer Nelson wasn't satisfied. The Chester senior guard had scored 29 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dealt four assists to lead another furious Clippers' comeback that resulted in a 66-54 Del-Val League win at Glen Mills yesterday. But Nelson wasn't satisfied. "If we keep doing what we're doing," Nelson said, "it's going to be a tough season. " Nelson was referring to the postseason. The St. Joseph's-bound guard was referring to the Clippers' penchant of late for digging holes and then climbing out of them.

Chester didn't need a last-second shot to get past Hatboro-Horsham in the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA boys' basketball semifinals, as it did last year. Jameer Nelson made sure of that. The 6-foot-1 senior guard scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead a Chester rally en route to a 62-55 victory over the stubborn Hatters last night at Temple University's Liacouras Center. The No. 1-seeded Clippers, who are the defending district champions, will meet No. 2 Coatesville, a 66-60 winner over Pennsbury in last night's other semifinal, at 9 p.m. Friday at Villanova's Pavilion.

Danny Granger scored 25 points to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Orlando Magic, 105-87, in Indianapolis on Tuesday night, clinching their first-round Eastern Conference series four games to one. Darren Collison scored 15 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and George Hill added 15 points for the Pacers, who trailed by two at the end of the third quarter but outscored the Magic, 36-16, in the final 12 minutes. It was Indiana's first series win since 2005 and its first clincher on its home court since the first round of the 2000 playoffs.

The 76ers couldn't take advantage of an opponent that was clearly hurting both physically and emotionally. Despite having two starters out with injury and still wearing the scars from one of the most bizarre news conferences in NBA history, the Magic defeated the Sixers, 88-82, on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center. The loss was the Sixers' third in a row and fourth in five games. The Sixers visit Boston on Sunday, two games behind the Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

Dwight Howard scored 29 points and pulled down 18 rebounds to lead the Orlando Magic to a 99-94 road win over Chicago on Thursday night, ending the Bulls' winning streak at eight games. Chicago twice overcame double-digit deficits and led, 91-89, with 2 minutes, 56 seconds to play. Orlando responded with an 8-1 run started by Jameer Nelson's lob to Howard for a dunk. Carlos Boozer led Chicago with 26 points. The Bulls played without guards Richard Hamilton (right-shoulder bruise)

THE ORLANDO Magic couldn't count on their outsider shooters most of the night. Fortunately, they could rely on Dwight Howard. Howard had 36 points and 13 rebounds, Ryan Anderson added 19 points and 13 boards, and the visiting Magic beat the Toronto Raptors, 92-88, yesterday. Orlando made just nine of 28 three-point attempts, but got a pivotal three from J.J. Redick in the final 10 seconds. "Our perimeter guys all shot the ball very, very poorly tonight, so trying to decide who you're going to have down there as the last man wasn't an easy call," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

ORLANDO - There certainly were signs early that it would not be a good night for the 76ers. Front and center among the many problems was their inability to make shots, as they missed nine of their first 12, while Orlando made nine of its first 12. The Sixers were turning the ball over and allowing wide-open jump shots, and were unable to stop Dwight Howard. Although coach Doug Collins' frustration was nearing the boiling point, he is too familiar with his team to think there wouldn't be improvement.

ORLANDO - When the 76ers decided they wanted 20 wins before 10 losses, they knew they would have to be successful at the Wells Fargo Center. And they have been. They also knew that if they reached that mark - the team is 20-9 heading into Wednesday night's game with Orlando - sustaining that progress into and out of the all-star break next weekend would be crucial to their success in the second half of the season. The Sixers are 13-5 at home and tied with Miami for the most home wins in the Eastern Conference.

A LAWYER HAS entered a no-contest plea for Kyle Lowry in a bid for dismissal of a misdemeanor battery case alleging the Houston Rockets guard threw a basketball at a female referee and threatened her during a game at a Las Vegas gym last September during the NBA lockout. A court clerk said the 25-year-old Lowry didn't appear with his lawyer, Patrick McDonald, before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman. Goodman agreed to dismiss the case July 19 if Lowry completes 100 hours of community service at a battered women's shelter or a similar program, completes an impulse control counseling program and stays out of trouble for 6 months.

Coach Doug Collins has talked about the 76ers playing consistently and on an even keel, night in and night out, no matter whom the opposition, in order to keep on rolling. And almost a third of the way of the way through the season, this is exactly what they are doing. On Monday at Wells Fargo Center, it worked again, this time producing a 74-69 victory over the Orlando Magic. The point total was the lowest the Sixers (15-7) have finished with in any game this season, but it was achieved because they held the Magic (12-9)

The eighth annual Jameer Nelson/Pete Nelson Philly.com/Rally Classic, with 24 games over the next four days, will feature some of the East Coast's premier players. Contests will be held at Plymouth Whitemarsh, Widener University, and Lower Merion. Aquille Carr, a dynamic 5-foot-7 point guard from Baltimore's Patterson High, will showcase his skills twice at Widener. Carr and the Clippers face Plymouth Whitemarsh Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., and take on Jeremiah Worthem and Math, Civics & Sciences Friday at 3:15 p.m. Because he packs the gym and empties the streets whenever he plays, the high-leaping Carr, a junior who averaged 31.3 points per game last season, is nicknamed "The Crime Stopper.

St. Joseph's men's basketball games will be broadcast on WIP-AM (610) this season, the school announced Thursday. Matt Martucci and Joe Lunardi are back for their third season as the radio team, with Lunardi entering his 22d season as the team's color analyst. The school also said that head coach Phil Martelli's weekly show, Hawk Talk, will also be on WIP-AM. St. Joe's opens its season Nov. 11 at Western Kentucky.   Nelson leads Hall class Former basketball great Jameer Nelson is among eight inductees into the St. Joseph's Athletic Hall of Fame, the school announced.