Harnessing a no-bull attitude, NIU basketball’s 6-foot-9-inch center Matt Nelson is large and in charge. But by his modest demeanor, you would never know it.

In an age of prima donnas, Nelson puts on his hardhat and goes to work night in and night out, never whining or complaining.

The 235-pound junior comes from modest beginnings, which has helped carve a personality he carries with him on the basketball court.

“I’m your typical farm kid coming from a small city to a Division I school to play basketball,” Nelson said. “Coming from Nebraska, [I grew up] always playing football when I was in high school, so I’m really used to physical play.”

Never one to shy away from physical contact, Nelson’s importance to the team is recognized by NIU interim coach Andy Greer.

Greer believes Nelson has a great work ethic and is a very good defender who helps out the Huskies with his team play.

“The great thing about Matt Nelson is that you know what you are going to get from him every night,” Greer said. “He covers up for a lot of people’s mistakes defensively and really has come into his own offensively in the last three or four games. Being more offensive-minded and going stronger to the basket, he’s shooting the ball a little better.”

The recent offensive onslaught Greer is referring to saw Nelson hit for a career-high 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor and 6-of-7 from the foul line against Ohio, along with an 8-point outburst in the first half against Toledo.

Playing more assertively, Nelson is showing signs of becoming a new and improved offensive player.

“It has a lot to do with confidence in myself and confidence in my teammates,” he said. “Also, it has to do with my post-up. I wasn’t posting up right in the beginning of the year, then I started watching film with coach and he pointed out what exactly I was doing wrong. It was just when I started posting up that my teammates got the confidence in me that I can score, so they started to give me the ball more. Then I got more confidence in myself. Me taking better shots and posting up better has allowed me to get better looks at the hoop.”

With confidence playing a big part in Nelson’s recent success, there is no telling how good he could end up being.

Cleaning the glass for a total of 100 rebounds his freshman year, he has almost surpassed that mark with 93 boards and 10 games left still to play this year.

“I think he’s a little more confident now, and he’s just going to get better and better,” Greer said. “He’s a good big man in this league, there’s no question about that.”

In tribute to his home state, “The Land of Corn,” Nelson is taking his stay at NIU one kernel at a time.

“From my freshman year, I’ve definitely gotten a lot bigger and stronger, but I see a lot more success for me at Northern,” he said. “There are still a lot more things that I want to work on, including my outside shot and just getting stronger and bigger.”

“He’s improved since his freshman year,” Greer said. “I think by the time he leaves here, he’ll be one of the better centers in our league.”