Johnny Neumann
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| Position | Forward/Guard |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Born | September 11, 1951 Memphis, Tennessee |
| Nationality | USA |
| College | University of Mississippi |
| Draft | 6th round, 98th overall, 1976 Chicago Bulls |
| Pro career | 1971–1978 |
| Former teams | Memphis Pros/Tams (1971-1974) Utah Stars (1974) Virginia Squires (1974;1975-1976) Indiana Pacers (1974-1975; 1977-1978) Kentucky Colonels (1976) Buffalo Braves (1976) Los Angeles Lakers (1976-1977) |
Carl John Neumann (born September 11, 1951 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. At 6'6" and 200 pounds, he played the guard and forward positions.
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[edit] High school and college
Following a standout career at Overton High School in Memphis, Neumann took his game to the University of Mississippi, where he played from 1969 to 1971. During his sophomore season, he drew comparisons to Pete Maravich after averaging an NCAA-high 40.1 points per game.[1] His strongest performances included a 63 point game against Louisiana State University and a 60 point game against Baylor University.[2] Neumann earned All-America and SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors at the end of the season, and he signed a a five-year, $2 million contract with the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association.[3]
[edit] Professional playing career
Neumann's professional career started strong, with averages of 18.3 points per game and 19.6 points per game in his first two full seasons with Memphis. However, he gradually fell out of favor with the team's coach and management, who thought he was not passing the ball enough, and he was traded to the Utah Stars for three players in January 1974.
Neumann struggled to regain his scoring average after being traded to Utah. He averaged just 10.1 points in 44 games with the Stars, and the team cut ties with him in the summer of 1974. Neumann then spent the next two seasons bouncing between the Virginia Squires, the Indiana Pacers, and the Kentucky Colonels. His best stint was when he averaged 16.6 points with the Squires during part of the 1975-76 season.
The ABA folded in 1976, with a handful of teams (including the Pacers) joining the National Basketball Association (NBA). From 1976 to 1978, Neumann played 83 games in the NBA as a member of the Buffalo Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Pacers. His 1977-78 campaign with the Pacers, during which he averaged just 4.2 points, would be his last in the United States. Afterwards, he took his game to Europe, where he competed in Italy and Germany.[4] [5]
[edit] Coaching career
Neumann became an assistant coach while playing in Germany, a position that would prove to be his first of many basketball coaching jobs. Since the early 1980s, Neumann has coached in Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Kuwait, and Lebanon, as well as in the American minor-league Continental Basketball Association. Neumann also coached the Louisville Shooters of the Global Basketball Association in 1991 and 1992. While in Cyprus, he discovered Darrell Armstrong, a little-known American guard from Fayetteville State University who later found success in the NBA. [6] Neumann's last coaching stint in Lebanon, where he led the country's national team, ended in controversy in September 2002 after he made disparaging remarks about the country's basketball referees on national television. He was fired shortly afterwards. [7]
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.thelocalvoice.net/TLV-pages/athletics/TLV22-johnnyneumann.html
- ^ http://library.thinkquest.org/25934/high_scorers.htm
- ^ http://www.remembertheaba.com/MemphisMaterial/BuccaneersMemphisYearly.html
- ^ http://www.remembertheaba.com/Memphis-Tams.html
- ^ http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/n/neumajo01.html
- ^ http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/johnny_neumann.html
- ^ http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2002-09/a-2002-09-03-29-Lebanon.cfm
