Carl John Neumann (September 11, 1950 – 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. At 6'6" and 200 pounds, he played at the shooting guard and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular c ...

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 ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

, 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 educati ...

season, he drew comparisons to

Pete Maravich Peter Press Maravich ( ; June 22, 1947 – January 5, 1988), known by his nickname Pistol Pete, was an American professional basketball player. Maravich was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and raised i ...

, 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 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 points by ...

.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 (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and a 60-point game against

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

. Neumann earned

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and

SEC Player of the Year Southeastern Conference Player of the Year refers to the most outstanding player for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in a given sport for a given season. For lists of individual sport SEC Players of the Year by year: * Southeastern Conference Ba ...

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 of the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

. 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on Januar ...

, in the 6th round of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bask ...

.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 t ...

, in exchange for Glen Combs, Ronnie Robinson, Mike Jackson and cash, in January 1974.

Utah Stars

In Neumann's first year with the

, his team won the ABA Western Division and defeated the

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

, 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 league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first est ...

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

1974 ABA Finals The 1974 ABA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Basketball Association's 1973-1974 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Division champion New York Nets defeating the Western Division champion Utah Stars, four game ...

to the

New York Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. 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 James Scott Eakins (born May 24, 1946) is a retired American professional basketball player and two-time American Basketball Association champion. A 6'11" center from Brigham Young University, Eakins was selected in the fifth round of the 1968 ...

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 a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

, 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 league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

, 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 m ...

took place in June 1976, Neumann ended up with the

Buffalo Braves The Buffalo Braves were an American professional basketball franchise based in Buffalo, New York. The Braves competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division from 1970 ...

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

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

, as a member of the Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, 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 A sports 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 horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hung ...

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 bas ...

. Neumann also coached the Louisville Shooters of the Global Basketball Association, in 1991 and 1992. While in Cyprus, he discovered

Darrell Armstrong Darrell Eugene Armstrong (born June 22, 1968) is a former American professional basketball player, who played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He is currently an assistant coach for the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, who won the champ ...

, a little-known American point guard from

Fayetteville State University Fayetteville State University (FSU) is a public historically black university in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. History The second oldest state suppo ...

, 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 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 a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County. Founded i ...

, 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