Craig Neal

Craig Neal (born February 16, 1964)

Current position: Associate head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Nevada Wolfpack (Head coach: Steve Alford)
Current conference: Mountain West Conference (MWC)
Teams coached: New Mexico Lobos
New Mexico record: 76-52 (.594)
Overall record: 76-52 (.594)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (2014)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • Mountain West Tournament Champion:  1  (2014)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

2019-present Nevada  (assoc. HC)
2013-2017 New Mexico
2007-2013 New Mexico (assoc. HC)
2004-2007 Iowa (asst)
2000-2003 Toronto Raptors (asst)

Craig Neal Facts

  • Craig Duane Neal
  • Born February 16, 1964
  • Hometown: Washington, Indiana
  • Alma Mater: Georgia Institute of Technology (BS, 1988)
  • Was an all-state basketball player at Washington HS (IN), where he played for his father, Stan Neal
  • Went on to play four seasons at Georgia Tech for longtime head coach Bobby Cremins
    • Set an ACC record with 303 assists during his senior year (1987-88) and earned All-ACC honors
  • Drafted 71st overall (3rd round) in the 1988 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers
    • Played most of that season in Portland for coach Mike Schuler, then signed with the Miami Heat, coached by Pat Riley
    • Later spent a short time with the Denver Nuggets, playing in 10 games for head coach Paul Westhead
    • In addition to his time in the NBA, Neal played professionally in the CBA, USBL and short-lived WBL
      • Other coaches he played for include Ricky Barry, Mike Thibault and Eric Musselman (with the Rapid City Thrillers)
  • First post-playing role was as a scout with the NBA’s Toronto Raptors (coached by Darrell Walker), starting in 1996
    • In 2000, Neal joined the coaching staff as an assistant under Lenny Wilkens, working in that capacity for three seasons
  • Moved to the college level in 2004, joining the staff of friend and fellow Indiana-native Steve Alford at Iowa
    • Followed Alford to New Mexico in 2007, spending the next six years as associate head coach for the Lobos
  • Elevated to head coach at UNM in 2013 when Alford left for the UCLA job
    • Won the 2014 MWC Tournament in his first season, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament
    • The next three seasons were less successful and Neal was fired in 2017 with a 76-52 overall record
  • Spent the next two seasons out of coaching and in 2019 was named associate head coach at Nevada by new head coach Alford
  • Along with his wife, Janet, has two sons, Cullen (who played for his father at UNM) and Dalton

Craig Neal Coaching Tree