Carl John Neumann, nicknamed "Johnny Reb", was an American professional basketball player and coach. At 6'6" and 200 pounds, he played the shooting guard and small forward positions.
Following a standout career at Overton High School in Memphis, Neumann took his game to the University of Mississippi, where he played from 1969 to 1971. During his season, he drew comparisons to Pete Maravich after averaging an NCAA-high 40.1 points per game. His strongest performances included a 63-point game against Louisiana State University and a 60-point game against Baylor University. Neumann earned All-America and SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors at the end of the season. Neumann was named the SEC Player of the Year and continues to hold the Ole Miss single-season scoring record of 923 points. After his sophomore season at Ole Miss, Neumann became the first player in basketball history to sign a hardship clause as he signed a five-year, $2 million contract with the Memphis Pros of the American Basketball Association. Neumann was later drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the 6th round of the 1973 NBA draft. Johnny Neumann returned to Ole Miss and completed his undergraduate degree after a four decade absence. His hope was to return to coaching. He was named to the 2016 SEC Legends class.
Neumann's professional career started strong, with averages of 18.3 points per game and 19.6 points per game in his first two full seasons with Memphis. He was named to the ABA All-Rookie Team in 1972. However, Neumann gradually fell out of favor with the team's coach and management, who thought he was not passing the ball enough, and he was traded by the Memphis Tams to the Utah Stars for Glen Combs, Ronnie Robinson, Mike Jackson and cash in January 1974.
Utah Stars
In Neumann's first year in Utah the Stars won the ABA Western Division and defeated the San Diego Conquistadors in the Western Division Semifinals and the Indiana Pacers in the Western Division Finals to make it to the ABA Championship series, losing the 1974 ABA Finals to the New York Nets. Despite the team's success Neumann struggled to regain his scoring average after being traded to Utah. He averaged just 10.1 points in 44 games with the Stars.
In August 1974 the Stars traded Neumann and a draft choice to the Virginia Squires for Jim Eakins and Larry Miller. After just four games with the Squires, the Indiana Pacers bought Neumann's rights from the Squires in November 1974. He averaged 8.3 points per game with Indiana. Neumann finished out the 1974–75 season as a Pacer and in March 1975 the Virginia Squires bought Neumann's rights back from the Pacers. Neumann averaged 16.6 points per game for Virginia during the 1975–76 season but in January 1976 he was traded by the Squires.
With the ABA–NBA merger in June 1976 Neumann ended up with the Buffalo Braves. From 1976 to 1978, Neumann played 83 games in the NBA as a member of the Braves, Los Angeles Lakers, and once again with the Pacers. His 1977–78 campaign with the Pacers, during which he averaged just 4.2 points, would be his last in the United States. After leaving the NBA Neumann took his game to Europe, where he competed in Italy for Gabetti Cantù and Germany.
