Nebraska football signee Carter Nelson dunks at PBA

A fan wanted a dunk from him.

“I got you,” the Nebraska football signee recalled saying.

He doesn’t need much runway for his takeoff, either. With two steps, the 6-foot-5 Nelson launched into a third-quarter, two-hand dunk Thursday at the Nebraska state boys basketball tournament. It was his signature slam of Ainsworth’s 62-55 win over Dundy County Stratton in the Class D-1 quarterfinals.

“Those are really fun,” Nelson afterward.

He’d add another dunk — a one-hander, his eyes equal to the rim — in the final 30 seconds as DCS mounted a late comeback. Nelson finished with 16 points — his season average — in the win.

A Top 100 prospect according to all three major recruiting services, Nelson picked Nebraska over Georgia, Notre Dame and other suitors. He also chose not to enroll early at NU. Many of his freshman teammates — including quarterback Dylan Raiola — are going through offseason drills with Husker strength coaches. Nelson is throwing down PBA dunks.

“It was basketball and basketball alone,” Nelson said of his decision to remain one more semester in high school. “Playing with these guys, the last four years, has been really special. I just wanted to finish out that ride.”

Getting to the state tournament was part of the dream. Nelson said Thursday he had been a team manager for Wisner years ago and seen the event as a kid. He vowed to get there as a teenager playing for his high school team.

“It was awesome,” Nelson said, noting the Ainsworth crowd that made a four-hour drive to PBA. The Bulldogs controlled most of the game, keeping DCS at arm’s length through halftime, when it held a 29-24 lead.

Nelson started the third quarter sequence with a steal that fell into hands of teammate Trey Appelt, who flipped the ball forward to Nelson, rising and thundering the ball into the hoop. Nelson missed what might have been a more impressive jam in the fourth quarter as Ainsworth held a double-digit lead. Nelson doesn’t count his dunks per game, but Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said Thursday in a separate interview he’d never attended a game where Nelson had fewer than three dunks.

“As far as athletic ability, I don’t think I’ve coached one who’s this athletic,” Satterfield said.

NCAA rules prohibited college football coaches from attending state tournament games, but anyone at PBA would have seen a versatile game from Nelson. In the second quarter, he jumped to swipe a Tiger pass and made a layup after the steal. He finished drives with either hand and, in one fourth quarter sequence, Nelson threw a 30-foot outlet pass up the floor to a teammate, who made a breakaway layup.

Nelson glanced at the boisterous DCS crowd after that play. Welcome to the fun of state tournament — why Nelson chose to stay in high school one more semester.

“This whole year has been worth it,” Nelson said. “This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball.”