Tuesday, January 11th, 2011...12:30 pm
Other People: Draft Express looks back on Gary Neal
In rebuilding the bench, San Antonio Spurs general manager R.C. Buford brought three rookies in to address weaknesses that plagued the team last season.
Tiago Splitter was the heralded European import, ready to step in and immediately make his mark in the NBA. James Anderson was the solid find at the end of the first round that general managers continuously allow the Spurs to take advantage of.
And Gary Neal? Neal was the guy who just months ago was merely a backdrop for the continued development of Garrett Temple, until the San Antonio Spurs surprised everyone and gave him a guaranteed deal—once again sending everyone looking through wikipedia and media guides for their annual “who did the Spurs just sign” summer tradition.
Those that stopped at Draft Express first (something I highly recommend when looking for information on the Spurs next mystery) did not have to look very far. One of the few sites that had any basketball information on Neal before he emerged in San Antonio, this week Draft Express looked back on Neal and his growth from college and European star to NBA role player:
It hasn’t been a completely smooth road for Neal getting to where he is, as some of his stops overseas have been less successful than others, but he’s done a great job maturing and coming to a better understanding of the team concept in the last four years. He’s now been thrust into arguably the most team-oriented offense in the league, and he’s embraced it well, taking full advantage of his first shot in the NBA.
So often we hear about Gregg Popovich’s preferences for players who have gotten over themselves, but so rarely do we get an in depth look at how they did it.
Joe Treutlein, director of scouting over at Draft Express, does a great job mapping out Gary Neal’s growth from high volume chucker in college, toning down his game to a more versatile, less efficient skill set in Europe, to the low usage, high efficient role player he is today for the Spurs.
Most role players need at least two NBA-quality skills to be useful in a decent team’s rotation. Neal, as you can read in the original Draft Express scouting report, combines above average shooting with a sound basketball IQ and at least functional athleticism.
To run with a typical stereotype, there are shooters everywhere in European basketball (and I know, Neal was an American college basketball player, but he did play in that league for some time). The reasons why coaches cannot just pluck a random shooter and find themselves a Gary Neal is that it still takes the intelligence to overcome your limitations (and get your shot off cleanly).
Out of college, Neal struggled with this. It took him a while to figure it out, but now that he has he is making the most of it. He’s clearly not the same player he was, and now you can read how, exactly, he’s changed.
12 Comments
January 11th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
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January 11th, 2011 at 1:39 pm
Excellent piece but all it really says is that most players need reps to improve. Most players need game action to get better. Playing in Europe gave Neal live game reps which helped him hone his craft. Also, the live reps in Europe allowed him to understand what parts of his game would carry over from college to the pro game. Needless to say this kid looks like Jaren Jackson (circa 1999 ).
January 11th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
Fourth in PER among rookies behind Blake Griffin, John Wall, and DeMarcus Cousins. Not bad, especially for someone who isn’t a lottery pick. Hell, he wasn’t in the first round. Hell, neither in the second. One of the best undrafted rookies in history. Nice.
January 11th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
I found myself upset when I did not see Neal on the floor at the end of the Boston game. For me, that says it all.
January 11th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
Steal of the 2010 - 2011 Season!!!
January 11th, 2011 at 5:08 pm
Neal has been a big part of this teams success. However, I have a bad feeling about tonights game against Minny. Its time for the Twolves to win one against the Spurs given how well they’ve played for the first three games.
January 11th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
Hold up Ruel, James Anderson was declared that, we’ll have to see if that comes true and hopefully it does.
January 11th, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Gary Neal has definately “grown up” since college. I wonder if the Spurs were ever talking to him or working with him in europe?
He certainly has a good grasp of the system for being, not only a rookie, but also somebody who never even played in the Spurs D-league.
Of course neither did Manu or Parker. What a (look what I found) feather to stick in that cap if Neal ever becomes even better than he’s playing now.
January 11th, 2011 at 9:20 pm
Thank you for this piece and bringing my attention to the Draft Express write-ups.
Over the last couple of weeks I have found myself debating whether George Hill or Gary Neal is my favorite Spur of the future.
Since I am a huge defense first guy, Hill’s long arms and defensive tenacity make him the natural pick (not to mention his blank, emotionless, Duncan-like affect).
BUT I find myself most excited when Neal enters the game. I always get the sense that his shots are going in and I’m actually surprised when they don’t
(like cay says above, I actually wanted Neal to take the final shot against Boston rather than Manu. A ROOKIE!).
And when his defender closes out on him? He drives to the hoop and does his best Tony Parker (and lately Matt Bonner?!) impersonation with his running floater. And it’s been pretty money.
And to top it off, whenever he’s on the floor, it always seems like he’s in the middle of the action. “Gary Neal with the rebound” is something I’ve heard way more than I ever thought I would.
He’s one of the main reasons that this season has been special so far.
And can we stop with the Roger Mason Jr. 2.0 business? This guy’s off-the-dribble and in-between game craps on RMJ. Calling him RMJ 2.0 is like calling Tony Parker, Avery Johnson 2.0.
Cheers to Gary Neal!
January 12th, 2011 at 1:38 am
if manu is the best second round pick, neal is the best undrafted player.
January 13th, 2011 at 3:23 am
@khoa
Yes, I agree with you and thank you for reminding me and I appreciate it. No doubt, James Anderson with all my respect was steal of the Draft this Year but have you ever heard or read about “Gary Neal” story? He’s a FA Undrafted Player? I don’t know if the story was true. I just read it on the post and newspapers and heard it on the News? Please, if anybody know the true story? Would be nice to hear and welcome to correct me. Anyway, I just can’t believe it out of 32 scouting teams on the NBA? Not even our staffs have scouted him. We’re just very lucky and fortunate. From what I’ve read and heard? Neal came back here in the U.S last year trainning camp to find his luck. He try out and participate on our team training camp and claim to be a shooter? At first, I didn’t buy the whole story until I saw on t.v his game by game? If those whole stories I’ve read and heard from the post, newspapers, and news were true? Gary Neal truly deserve a recognation too and from what’ve seen so far from him? He’s doing his job well and hopefully throughout the season too and more years to come.
James Anderson Steal of the 2010 - 2011 Draft!!!
Gary Neal Steal of the 2010 -2011 Season!!!
January 13th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
when i first heared the spurs have sined some guy name gary neal i looked at his info and i smiled and said “hey this guy looks pretty good he looks like he can do something to contribute to us.” BUT I NEVER EXPECTED THIS. This is a guy who plays good defense and can get 20 points a game off the bench wait until he starts. our future
Pg: George Hill
Sg: Gary Neal
Sf: James Anderson(not a true sf but i could see a 3 guard set)
Pf: Dejuan Blair
C: possibly splitter if he improves if not. we still have some draft picks to work with
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