Carl John Neumann (September 11, 1951 – April 23, 2019), nicknamed "Johnny Reb", was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player and coach. At 6'6" and 200 pounds, he played at the

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game ...

and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

positions.

High school and college

Following a standout career at Overton High School in Memphis, Neumann took his game to the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, where he played from 1969 to 1971. During his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

season, he drew comparisons to Pete Maravich, after averaging an NCAA-high of 40.1

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

.http://www.thelocalvoice.net/TLV-pages/athletics/TLV22-johnnyneumann.html
/ref> His strongest performances included a 63-point game against

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and a 60-point game against

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

. Neumann earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

and SEC Player of the Year honors at the end of the season. Johnny Neumann returned to Ole Miss and completed his undergraduate degree, in 2016. After earning his degree, he returned to coaching. He was named to the 2016 SEC Legends class. Neumann continues to hold the Ole Miss single-season scoring record of 923 points.

Professional career

Memphis Pros and Memphis Tams

After his sophomore season at Ole Miss, Neumann became the first player in basketball history to sign a hardship clause as he signed a five-year, $2 million contract with the

Memphis Pros Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. Neumann was later drafted by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, in the 6th round of the 1973 NBA draft.Basketball-Reference.com Johnny Neumann page
/ref> 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. He was named to the ABA All-Rookie Team in 1972. However, Neumann gradually fell out of favor with the team's head coach and management, who thought he was not passing the ball enough, and he was traded by the Memphis Tams to the

Utah Stars The Utah Stars were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Under head coach Bill Sharman the Stars were the first major professional basketball team to use a pre-game shootaround. History prior to moving to ...

, in exchange for Glen Combs, Ronnie Robinson, Mike Jackson and cash, in January 1974. The exploits of Neumann were briefly detailed in Terry Pluto's book ''Loose Balls'', which had varuous players note his talent in scoring along with his immaturity that never quite ended in his playing days.

Utah Stars

In Neumann's first year with the

, his team won the ABA Western Division and defeated the San Diego Conquistadors, in the Western Division Semifinals and the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

in the Western Division Finals, to make it to the ABA Championship series, where they lost the 1974 ABA Finals to the

New York Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. Despite the team's success, Neumann struggled to regain his scoring average after being traded to Utah. He averaged just 10.1 points per game, in 44 games played with the Stars.

Virginia Squires and Indiana Pacers

In August 1974 the Stars traded Neumann and a draft choice, to the

Virginia Squires The Virginia Squires were a basketball team based in Norfolk, Virginia, and playing in several other Virginia cities. They were members of the American Basketball Association from 1970 to 1976. The team originated in 1967 as the Oakland Oaks, a ...

, in exchange for Jim Eakins and Larry Miller. After just four games with the Squires, the

bought Neumann's rights from the Squires, in November 1974. He averaged 8.3 points per game with Indiana. Neumann finished out the 1974–75 season as a Pacer, and in March 1975, the Virginia Squires bought Neumann's rights back from the Pacers. Neumann averaged 16.6 points per game for Virginia during the 1975–76 season, but in January 1976, he was traded by the Squires.

Kentucky Colonels

In January 1976, Neumann was traded along with Jan van Breda Kolff, to the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were an American professional basketball team based in Louisville, Kentucky. They competed in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1967 to 1976. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky Colonels. The Colo ...

, in exchange for Marv Roberts. He averaged 10.1 points per game as the Colonels defeated the Indiana Pacers in the ABA Quarterfinals and lost a 4–3 seven-game series to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, in the 1976 ABA Semifinals.

NBA

After the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA–NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

took place in June 1976, Neumann ended up with the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball team based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference ...

. From 1976 to 1978, Neumann played 83 games in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

, as a member of the Braves,

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and once again with the Pacers. His 1977–78 campaign with the Pacers, during which he averaged just 4.2 points per game, would be his last in the United States.

Europe

After leaving the NBA, Neumann took his game to Europe, where he competed in the Italian A League with Gabetti Cantù, in the 1978–79 season, and in the German Federal League, with Saturn Köln, from 1980 to 1982.http://www.remembertheaba.com/Memphis-Tams.html

Coaching career

Neumann became an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

while playing in Germany, a position that would prove to be his first of many basketball coaching jobs. Neumann also coached in Belgium, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, China, and Japan, as well as in the American minor-league

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

with the

Maine Lumberjacks Maine Lumberjacks were an American minor league basketball team formed as an expansion team in 1978. The franchise played 17 seasons in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), calling six different cities home. The team was originally base ...

. 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

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

from Fayetteville State University, who later found success in the

. On June 23, 2010, Neumann was appointed as the new head coach of the Romanian national team. After graduation from Ole Miss with a bachelor's degree in general studies, he hoped to obtain a position as a professional sports analyst and broadcaster, but those opportunities did not materialize. In an attempt to reenter coaching while waiting for the next professional opportunity, he served as an assistant coach at South Panola High School, in Batesville, Mississippi.

Death

Neumann had suffered from several health issues for many years. By 2018, Johnny's health had declined significantly and it was discovered he had developed a brain tumor. In spite of surgery, Neumann died in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

, on April 23, 2019, after struggling against brain cancer. His ashes were deposited in an undisclosed location, but close to some of his most significant basketball achievements.

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;", Rizing Fukuoka , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , 44, , 20, , 24, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Western, , , 1, , 0, , 1, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in playoff semifinals , - , style="text-align:left;", Rizing Fukuoka , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , 52, , 22, , 30, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Western, , , 2, , 0, , 2, , , style="text-align:center;", Lost in 1st round , - , style="text-align:left;", Takamatsu Five Arrows , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , 52, , 13, , 39, , , , style="text-align:center;", 7th in Western, , , -, , -, , -, , , style="text-align:center;", - , -

References

External links