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
- Alan Huss (High Point)
- Lamont Smith (San Diego)