James Ellerbe "Daddy" Neal (May 21, 1930 – October 3, 2011) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who played in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Neal, a 6'11" center, played college basketball at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...

from 1949 to 1953, where he led the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's small colleges in scoring as a senior at 32.6 points per game. For his career, Neal scored 2,078 points (23.3 per game) and had 1,500 rebounds (16.9). He set numerous school records at Wofford, including most points in a game (57), highest scoring average for a season (32.6 PPG) and highest season rebounding average (26.5)2010-11 Wofford men's basketball media guide
accessed October 5, 2011 At Wofford, Neal received the nickname "Daddy," a reference to his long, thin arms and legs which students compared to a daddy longlegs spider.Wofford basketball legend James Neal dead at age 81
accessed October 5, 2011 Following his graduation from Wofford, Neal was drafted by the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

with the sixth overall pick of the

1953 NBA draft The 1953 NBA draft was the seventh annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1953, before the 1953–54 season. In this draft, nine remaining NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college bas ...

. He played one season for the Nationals, averaging 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 67 games. Neal played the next season with the Baltimore Bullets, where he averaged 2.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game until the franchise folded in November 1954. Neal died on October 3, 2011, in his home in

Greer, South Carolina Greer is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, Greenville and Spartanburg County, South Carolina, Spartanburg counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 35,308 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census Greer is ...

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

* 1930 births 2011 deaths American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) players Basketball players from South Carolina Centers (basketball) People from Greer, South Carolina People from Newberry County, South Carolina Syracuse Nationals draft picks Syracuse Nationals players Wofford Terriers men's basketball players {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub