Craig Neal: This alum merits consideration as Tech’s coach
Craig "Noodles" Neal as a Jacket, driving against Ranzino Smith. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech)
Ordinarily it makes little sense to hire as head coach someone who hasn’t been a head coach, but Craig Neal’s circumstances are special. He’s not just any assistant but one of the best in the nation. (He has a five-year contract; most assistants go year-to-year.) He has worked alongside Steve Alford for seven seasons, and together they’ve averaged 23 victories — first at Iowa, now at New Mexico.
Last March the Lobos, who hail from the Mountain West Conference, entered the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed. This was a lesser Lobo season, but they still went 21-12 in a league that yielded a No. 2 NCAA seed (San Diego State), a No. 3 (BYU) and a No. 8 (UNLV). And given New Mexico’s youth — only one senior on the roster — 21-12 and an NIT berth stands to be the worst this program does for a while.
Said Alford, speaking Sunday of Neal: “He’s been like an assistant head coach. He’s our recruiting coordinator; he’s our offensive coordinator.” (And Neal is not, you should know, the defensive coordinator who allowed BYU’s Jimmer Fredette to go for 52 points last weekend.) Then this from Alford: “I may be biased, but I think [Neal is] a slam dunk.”
He meant as head coach of Georgia Tech, which is in the market for one. And why, you might be interested to know, should an assistant working in Albuquerque be considered for a job in Atlanta?
Because Craig Neal went to Georgia Tech, played (very well) at Georgia Tech, loves Georgia Tech. He experienced Tech basketball at a time when it was the hottest ticket in town. Said Neal: “It used to be you couldn’t get in the place.”
That was in the middle ’80s, when Bobby Cremins was the coach and Mark Price was the point guard and Neal his backup. After Price exited in 1986, Neal would become the starter and make all-ACC. Some Tech backers have pointed to Price as the guy who should be the next Tech coach, but he has worked only sparingly in college basketball — he’s now the shooting coach for the Golden State Warriors — and would be a reach, resume-wise. Neal would not.
Alford: “What sets him apart is that he has had seven years in college ball after 1o years in the NBA [with the Toronto Raptors, first as a scout and then as Lenny Wilkens' assistant] When he walks into a recruit’s house, he hits every note — he has played and coached in the league, and he has played and coached at a high level in college.”
But what about the one gap, the part about never having been a head coach? Said Neal: “There are all kinds of cases at BCS schools of assistants succeeding. I’d have to know my limitations, and I’d hire my staff accordingly. I’d hire someone with head coaching experience.”
Craig Neal today. (Photo courtesy of New Mexico)
Something else of importance: Neal lived in Kennesaw when scouting for the Raptors — he advised drafting Tracy McGrady in 1997 and Vince Carter in 1998 — and he knows the South well. His dad coached for a decade at Pope High in Marietta, and the younger Neal is familiar with the history and hierarchy of the massively important AAU Atlanta Celtics. (Speaking of recruiting: Craig’s son Cullen figures to be a top recruit in 2013.)
Regarding Tech, Neal said: “I know the lay of the land. I know you must get student-athletes who understand the importance of academics. I know there’s a great community and great tradition. I know what it takes.”
Said Alford, who famously led Indiana to the 1987 NCAA title: “When you hire an alum as head coach, you get his heart. He’s not there because he can make more money or because it’s in the ACC, and when things go wrong he’s not looking for a way out. Next year Tech will have to play all road games [because of renovation to the former Alexander Memorial Coliseum], and that’s tough. But when you get an alum, his heart’s in the job.”
This isn’t to say Neal is the only man for Tech, or even the best man. This is to say that, because of who he is and where he has been, he deserves a chance to make his case to athletic director Dan Radakovich. He might be a career assistant, but he’s surely the only college assistant now working who can look at Georgia Tech and say, as he did Sunday, “That’s my dream job. That’s my school.”
And for an amended list of six (head) coaches who might be possibilities at Tech, click here.
By Mark Bradley
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117 comments Add your comment
Iron Pigeon
March 14th, 2011
6:11 pm
Neal should be at the top of DRad’s short list. He clearly wants the job and has good enough credentials to do the job. Alford’s endorsement is telling, not necessarily because it is Alford saying it, but because he hits the right notes, as does Neal, and realizes the challenges and advantages of Tech hiring an alum.
Iron Pigeon
March 14th, 2011
6:13 pm
DRad and Fogler may be more comfortable shopping around a little before making the hire, but they definitely need to contact him to let him know they are interested. There are a lot of openings out there.
Wesley Chandler
March 14th, 2011
6:18 pm
MARK PRICE MARK PRICE MARK PRICE MARK PRICE http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Mark-Price-to-coach-Georgia-Tech/159292307460181 go to the page like it
Real V Dawg
March 14th, 2011
6:26 pm
neal? Hire a no name with no record, just because he played at tech? I’m hoping they do that. UGA will own tech for years!!!
Iron Pigeon
March 14th, 2011
6:28 pm
Real V Dawg: Neal may be a no name with you but his record against UGA is a perfect 4-0 as a player. If you could read, you would have read Bradley’s and Alford’s case for hiring him as a head coach.
BuzzTech86
March 14th, 2011
7:35 pm
Nice retort, Iron Eagle! Shut him down!
Mr GT basketball
March 14th, 2011
8:41 pm
always the underdog and once again, those still pointing fingers, but Price, the all American with retired jerseys in college and pro, two time 3 pt shootout champ, you can’t make it up those who think this one isn’t qualified, you people aren’t qualified to carry his shoes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov6VnMVuKss&feature=related
Jorge O'Leary
March 14th, 2011
11:42 pm
@Real V Dawg,
Like your overhyped puscatore football team dominated my CUSA football team! Mark Richt is Paul Hewitt, you necks just keep drinking the cool aid!
michael
March 15th, 2011
1:36 am
i’ll take anyone who’ll loosen his tie and slam his jacket to the floor during the heat of a game. heck, just stand up and look interested.
tekster
March 15th, 2011
9:31 am
is it just me or with that ‘grey-ing’ hair does craig neal bear a slight resemblance to bobby cremins?
Tech Man
March 15th, 2011
12:00 pm
I think Jerrel Simmons would be a great coach.
Prime Time
March 15th, 2011
12:35 pm
Anyone else think that he resembles Bobby Cremins back in the 80s??? Flashbacks!
GT93
March 15th, 2011
4:06 pm
““When you hire an alum as head coach, you get his heart. He’s not there because he can make more money or because it’s in the ACC, and when things go wrong he’s not looking for a way out.”
EXACTLY!!! Well said Steve Alford … let’s get someone who actually WANTS to be at GT long-term because he has emotional ties to the school and has personal drive to SUCCEED.
No more laissez-faire, fancy-suit bureaucrats with good agents and no coaching skills. We had one of those for 11 years and, well, you know …
The General
March 16th, 2011
9:25 am
Bring in the General—Bobby Knight. He will take the job for $2 million and bring back discipline to the tech program.
dont limit tech by hiring another
March 16th, 2011
9:49 am
african american coach. sorry but they can not coach. for the most part…. great athletes but terrible coaches.
look at the acc for instance. the 4 bottom feeders over the last 5-6-7 years are programs who have or had african american coaches at the helm. (note the dave letto was fired at uv and they are now coached by a white coach) they are uv um ncstate and gt.
than we have clemson. up until last year clemson was coached by oliver purnell who i always thought was a great coach until i delved into his record more deeply. in his entire coaching career he has never won more than ONE ncaa tourney game in a season. his successor managed that in his first season. a most convincing win at that.
the top teams in the acc for the most part are coached by white coaches. duke nc maryland and vt … all white. clemson a middle of the pack team…. white.
looking nation wide… how many outstanding black coaches can you name? my mind comes up blank but for a scant few. john chaney of temple…. mildly successful. george raveling? fired for cheating after never doing much at usc. who else ? none come to mind.
than we can look at some of the best coaches former assistants such as coach k. none of his assistants are doing well and that holds especially true for his former assistants who are black.
go further and looking into the nba. all the top coaches are white but for one. boston has a great coach in doc rivers. all the rest including the last two in atlanta are mediocre. all the top coaches are white for the most part and have been for some time.
sorry but this gt grad hopes that we do NOT hire an african american replacement at gt. we will be forever mediocre if we do.
i know this post will result in the insults and the ‘racist’ comments but if most believe that white men can’t jump than why is it such a stretch to believe that black men can NOT coach?
Alford - Page 2 - HawkeyeNation Forum
March 16th, 2011
5:15 pm
[...] Alford This guy apparently thinks GT should give Neal a look. Craig Neal: An alum who merits consideration as Tech's coach | Mark Bradley __________________ 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance……… The 5 [...]
4 Jacks
March 17th, 2011
1:56 am
Mark, I do not always agree with you, but I like the article, and yes it would be great to have Craig or any former player come here and do well and bring GT back to their rightful place in basketball. I alsways liked Craig as a player, and if he is the new guy I will certainly support him. I also know that GT has one of the sharpest AD’s in the country and any GT fan or any sportsfan that can’t see that is just a sidewalk, Monday morning quarterback kind of fan that really does not know his head from a.z.z. Mr. Radakovich will make a very good hire, and money will not be factor. For all those (ugayers & others) that think GT is broke, you have absolutely no clue. GT might not have the money that your big football corporations, oops, I mean “universities” do, however, GT is not broke like many say, wish and hope. As I said Drad will make a very good hire, and in two years this program will be back in the “dance” this time of year. GT baketball is a very good job as Mr. Bilas said, and there are alot of good coaches out there that would love to be the next head coach at GT.