Gary Neal

Infobox Euroleague Player


caption = Gary Neal with Benetton Treviso jersey.
name = Gary Neal
league = Serie A
nickname =
position = Point guard/Shooting guard
height_ft = 6 | height_in = 4
weight_lbs = 210
team = Benetton Treviso
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1984|11|3
birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland
highschool = Aberdeen High School
Calvert Hall College High School
college = La Salle
Towson
draft = undrafted
draft_year = 2007
draft_team =
career_start = 2007
career_end =
former_teams = Pınar Karşıyaka (2007-2008)
AXA FC Barcelona (2008)
awards =

Gary Neal (born November 3, 1984) is a former Towson Tigers and La Salle Explorers basketball star who is from Aberdeen, Maryland. Neal is considered a combo guard. Neal was eligible in the 2007 NBA Draft in June and was projected to be on the bubble to get drafted. Neal went undrafted. He is 6'4", 200 lbs. Neal no longer plays in Turkey for the team Pinar Karsiyaka in Izmir, Turkey. But, when playing for KSK, Gary lead the Turkish league in scoring points per game and averaged 26.5 ppg. Eventually, FC Barcelona bought out Gary's KSK contract. Neal was signed by FC Barcelona in January 2008. In Barcelona he played with "Pepe" Sanchez, the former Philadelphia 76er, and the team where Juan Carlos Navarro used to play for several years (currently playing for the Memphis Grizzlies) along with other former NBA players. FC Barcelona is a major step up from Pinar Karsiyaka as it shows Neal is making major strides in the development of his game.In June 2008 he was signed by the Italian Lega A outfit Benetton Treviso. Benetton Treviso is known as one of - if not the - most organized basketball program in all of Europe. Gary is now the starting shooting guard for Benetton and plays with talented American and international players, including two stars of the Italian national team.

High school career

Neal played at Aberdeen High School and one year at Calvert Hall College High School. As a Junior, he led Aberdeen to a 21-4 record and won their state championship while averaging a triple double per game. One of his Aberdeen teammates was former George Mason F/C Jai Lewis. As a Senior, Calvert Hall went 22-9. One of his teammates on that squad was current Miami SG Jack McClinton.

College career

As a Freshman Neal was the Atlantic Ten Rookie Of The Year. He led the La Salle Explorers in scoring with a 18.6 average. In his sophomore year 2003-2004 he lead La Salle in scoring yet again with a 17.9 average. He was also named Atlantic-10 All 2nd Team. Neal missed the 2004-2005 season because he transferred to nearby Towson University, he was forced to transfer out of La Salle because Neal violated LaSalle's morality rules. He was also the only player in the CAA to score 40 points in one game. In Neal's Senior year 2006-2007, he posted yet again high scoring numbers averaging 25.3 PPG 3.5 APG 4.2 RPG, and leading the Tigers to the 2nd Round of the 2007 CAA conference tournament before losing to Old Dominion University.

Gary became one of only 3 people in the history of college basketball to score 1000 or more points at two different Universities.

Personal

Neal majored in history at Towson and graduated in 2007. His parents' are Gordon and Janet. He also has 2 brothers, Gordon and Gabriel. His brother Gordon is the head JV basketball coach and Varsity Assistant at C. Milton Wright High School. Gabriel played Division 2 college basketball at Barton College. Gary's favorite NBA player is [Ray Allen] }] .

External links

htp://www.benettonbasket.it
* http://www.towsontigers.com/sports/mbball/rosters/displayPlayer.asp?PLAYER_ID=2171