Evan Nelle

Evan Heinrich Nikolai Nelle (born June 8, 1998) is a Filipino college basketball player for the De La Salle Green Archers of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

He has won championships in the NCAA and in the UAAP.

When he was in grade school, Nelle studied at De La Salle-Zobel.

He started playing basketball in Grade 3.

His father taught him how to play basketball and he was inspired to play after seeing Derek Fisher's "0.4 shot".

In high school, Nelle transferred to San Beda–Rizal.

In his first year on the team, he led the San Beda Red Cubs to a 20–1 record in NCAA Season 91 including the playoffs, and won Finals MVP as the Red Cubs won their seventh straight championship.

He also led San Beda to the NBTC Division 1 Finals, where they lost to the NU Bullpups.

He then played in the NBTC All-Star Game (in which he won the All-Star Game MVP), and in the SLAM Rising Stars Classic.

Due to the implementation of K-12 in the country, Nelle and most of his teammates got to play for the Red Cubs for two more seasons.

In his second season, he started Season 92 with averages of 7.9 points on 34% shooting in the first round of eliminations.

He was able to break out of that slump with 27 points, four assists, and three rebounds in a win over the La Salle Greenies, earning a Player of the Week award in the process.

Although they lost to the Malayan Red Robins in the Finals, he was second in the league in assists.

He got to play in the NBTC All-Star Game once again, and led the Red Cubs to a NBTC Division 1 title.

In NCAA Season 93, Nelle scored 27 points with five triples, and also made six assists in a win over the Red Robins.

In a game against the JRU Light Bombers, he made two clutch free throws and a fastbreak layup with .3 seconds remaining to finish with 19 points and a one-point win.

The Red Cubs didn't make the Finals after they were upset by the Greenies in triple overtime, despite his 26 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and all while battling cramps.

His cramps affected several of his shots which could have won that game for the Red Cubs.

For that season, he averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while also leading the league in three-pointers made.

San Beda then won their 10th straight game of the season against EAC in which he had a double-double of 14 points and 11 assists.

They extended the streak in a win over the Mapúa Cardinals in which he and Kwekuteye combined for 30 points.

They kept winning until the end of the eliminations, completing 18 games without a loss.

By that point, he led the league in assists with 6.7 per game, and also averaged 10.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.6 steals.

He joined teammates Kwekuteye and Calvin Oftana (who was awarded as that season's MVP) on the NCAA Mythical Team.

He then put up a career-high 14 assists in a win over the JRU Heavy Bombers, the most in the league since Jio Jalalon have 16 assists in 2015.

The following game, he scored a then college career-high 15 points and added seven assists in a win over the EAC Generals, while Kwekuteye had a season-high 21 points in that win.

He then had a double-double of 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a win over the San Sebastian Stags.

He broke his career-high with 18 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in a win over the Letran Knights, although he did have eight turnovers, got into foul trouble and missed clutch free throws that almost gave Letran the win.

In San Beda's sixth straight win of the season, he scored 12 points and four assists against the Perpetual Altas.

In San Beda's seventh straight win, he scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth, along with seven assists and four rebounds to prevent the Lyceum Pirates from breaking the streak.

He finished 16th out of 24 players in the NBTC rankings, earning him another NBTC All-Star Game selection.

He also played in his final SLAM Rising Stars Classic, winning co-MVP honors with a younger Kai Sotto.

In 2018, Nelle stayed with the San Beda program, and joined the San Beda Red Lions.

He originally wanted to go to DLSU, but they didn't recruit him.

He joined a recruiting class that also included James Kwekuteye and Damie Cuntapay.

In his rookie season, although he had little playing time, he served as Robert Bolick's backup, and was part of the San Beda squad that won the NCAA Season 94 title.

In the preseason before Season 95, Nelle and Kwekuteye helped San Beda win the 2019 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, finishing the tournament undefeated.

The duo, along with teammate Donald Tankoua, were named to the Mythical Team.

During the tournament, the duo was referred to as the "Bandana Bros" due to the bandanas they started wearing.

Nelle started San Beda's title defense with a win over the Arellano Chiefs in which he had nine points, five rebounds, and five assists.