KANSAS CITY, Mo. ? Senior guard
Gary Neal (Calvert Hall H.S./Aberdeen, Md.) of Towson University has been named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-District 4 first team, it has been announced by NABC officials.
The NABC honors 75 players from 15 districts as first team all-district selections. All of the first team all-district selections are eligible for the NABC Division I All-America teams that will be announced at the conclusion of the regular season.
The fourth-leading scorer in NCAA Division I with a 25.6 average, Neal is the first Tiger basketball player to be named first team all-district at the Division I level.
Joining Neal on the All-District 4 first team are Zabian Dowdell of Virginia Tech, Jeff Green of Georgetown, Roy Hibbert of Georgetown and B.A. Walker of Virginia Commonwealth. Maureece Rice of George Washington, Will Thomas of George Mason, Valdas Vasylius of Old Dominion, Reggie Williams of Virginia Military Institute and Frank Young of West Virginia were selected to the second team.
The leading scorer in the Colonial Athletic Association, Neal has been named as the CAA Player of the Week three times this season. He also earned the award three times as a junior.
One of only three players in NCAA Division I history to score 1,000 points at two different schools, Neal enters the CAA Tournament this weekend with 2,254 career points. After scoring 1,041 points at LaSalle, he has scored 1,213 points in 47 games in a Towson uniform.
The third-leading scorer among active players, he trails only Caleb Green of Oral Roberts (2,412) and Nick Fazekas of Nevada (2,355) on the career scoring list.
Neal, who has scored 769 points this year, has the second-highest single season scoring total in school history. He needs 37 points to break the school record of 805 points set by Kurk Lee, '90 in the 1989-90 season.
He also owns the fourth highest single season scoring total in CAA history, trailing only the 903 points scored by All-American David Robinson of Navy in 1986-87, the 796 points scored by Robinson in 1985-86 and the 773-point season achieved by Blue Edwards of East Carolina in 1988-89.
In 30 games this year, Neal has topped the 30-point mark ten times and scored 20 or more points 24 times. In his college career, he has had 61 20-point efforts and 26 30-point games. Earlier this season, he exploded for a career high 41 points in the Tigers' win over Samford, setting a Towson Center record for points scored in a game by a Tiger.
In addition to leading the CAA in scoring, Neal ranks among the CAA leaders in six other categories. Averaging 3.57 assists per game, he is ninth in the CAA while his .450 field goal percentage places him 14th. He is also fourth in the CAA with an .836 free throw percentage and he is ninth in steals with a 1.40 average. While ranking eighth in the CAA in assist/turnover ratio, he is second in the CAA with 88 three-point field goals made. He is also the Tigers' third-leading rebounder with a 4.1 average.
With 88 three-point field goals made, he owns the Towson University single season record for three-pointers in a season. He also owns the school records for three-pointers made in a game (8) and career (150).
A second team All-CAA selection as a junior, he was named to the CAA's pre-season all-conference team in October. He was also selected as a pre-season All-American by The Sporting News and to the pre-season Mid-Major All-America team, as selected by collegeinsider.com.
Neal and the Tigers, 14-16 on the season, will open CAA Tournament action on Friday evening, March 2 when they face UNC Wilmington in a first round game at the Richmond Coliseum at 6:00 p.m.
All of the Tigers' CAA Tournament action will be broadcast back to the Baltimore area on WBAL-Radio (1090 AM).
