Reeves Nelson gets the boot — again

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Former UCLA star Reeves Nelson was released Tuesday by BC Zalgiris after five weeks with the professional basketball team in Lithuania.

In six games, he averaged 2.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 10 minutes. He shot 28 percent from the field, 56 percent on free throws and was 0 for 5 on three-pointers.

According to J#%@^$%&  G^@*^*at Draft^#^(#^#.com, Nelson is eligible for the 2012 NBA draft, but he isn’t expected to be selected.

Last season the 6-9 forward was UCLA’s leading scorer (13.9 points per game) and rebounder (9.1) and chosen first-team All-Pac-10.

Before the season, Nelson was featured on a Sports Illustrated cover and was considered one of the brightest stars in the Pac-12. He drew comparisons to former UCLA star Kevin Love.

However, things turned quickly and Nelson began to torpedo a promising career.

On Nov. 15, UCLA suspended Nelson for two days and he sat out one game after he was late for a team meeting and exhibited behavior that was deemed insubordinate.

After being reinstated Nov. 16, Nelson missed the team flight to Hawaii three days later where the Bruins played in the Maui Invitational. He lost his starting job and was a reserve in the next five games. He tallied a season-high 12 in a 72-56 loss to Kansas.

On Dec. 6, UCLA suspended him for a second time. In a statement, the school said Nelson displayed "conduct unbecoming a member of the UCLA basketball team." Before the suspension, Nelson was seen laughing on the bench during a 69-59 loss to Texas on Dec. 3.

"There were a couple of other things that occurred during that game that were very much inappropriate," coach Ben Howland told the Los Angeles Times. "I’m not the only one who feels this way. My staff, we’ve talked a lot about this. These distractions take you away from coaching and doing what’s best for our team. As talented as he is, no one is bigger than the team. The team comes first.

On Dec. 9, UCLA dismissed Nelson.

"Reeves behaved poorly," his mother Sheila Nelson told the LA Times. "He admits to that and he’s taking full responsibility for his actions. He still wants to be on the team. But quite frankly, I love my son, but he just turned 20 and he’s been a boy in a man’s body since he was 14 and there are things he needs to work on, and he will work on them."

Perhaps its coincidental, but Nelson’s younger brother Raymond, a freshman tight end at UCLA, was also dismissed Jan. 8.

Reeves Nelson was a major reason why UCLA was picked to win the Pac-12, however he averaged just 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in just six games.

The Bruins were 2-5 when he was released.

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