ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Nielsen Ratings Soar : Three-Point Shot by Burbank Forward Preempts Hart Victory Celebration

There is a difference of opinion over the conditions in which Mark Nielsen hit the game-winning shot Friday in Burbank’s Foothill League opener at Hart.

First, the facts. After trailing by 16 with three minutes left in the third quarter, Hart rallied and took a one-point lead with eight seconds remaining in the game. After a timeout, Nielsen hit a three-point bomb to give Burbank a 48-46 win.

Burbank Coach John Downum said he thinks Hart’s defense lapsed because Nielsen’s shot was uncontested.

“I figured they’d be in a man-to-man, so I sent in a play for him calling for a double pick, trying to get him open,” Downum said. “But when we inbounded the ball, they were in a zone, leaving Mark open.

“So he just stepped up and took . . . it must have been a 21-footer, without hesitating, and just nailed it.”

Hart Coach Greg Herrick, however, saw the play differently. He says he anticipated Nielsen driving to take the final shot and instructed his team to set up a defense to trap the senior forward.

“The ref allowed too much time before inbounding the ball, and that let them see what we were in,” Herrick said. “Our kid guarding him probably just figured that he was too far out to go after him. But he didn’t step up to take the shot. He just got the ball, turned, looked around and put it up.”

Nielsen took the middle ground.

“The coach called a play, but we didn’t really go into it because they were in the zone,” Nielsen said. “I got the ball, hesitated, then took the shot.”

Whatever the circumstances, the basket gave Nielsen 20 points in the game. Four days earlier, Nielsen scored 25 in a loss to Muir.

He averaged less than eight points as a starter last season, but Nielsen--whose brother and father both played at Burbank--is coming into his own this season. The 6-foot, 3-inch senior is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 16.9 points a game. And according to Downum, Nielsen has matured into a team leader.

“He was selected homecoming king by the student body and you can see he’s become a natural leader,” Downum said. “Combine all of that, and a young man can be taken away. But Mark’s still down to earth and has a great sense of humor.”

Nielsen might be destined for a Division I scholarship, but it probably will not be in basketball.

Nielsen’s best sport is tennis--last season he was the No. 1 singles player in the Foothill League.