Drew Neitzel

Drew Neitzel
is introduced in Winston-Salem. 2007
Player information
birthday	7th May 1985 (age 35)
place of birth	Grand Rapids , Michigan , USA
size	183 cm
position	Point guard
college	Michigan State
Clubs as active
2004–2008 MSU Spartans ( NCAA ) 2008–2009 Artland Dragons 2009 Élan Sportif Chalonnais 2010 TBB Trier 2011 BBC Bayreuth 2011–2012 Texas Legends 2012–2013 BBC Monthey 00000 00000 00000
National team
000002007	United States

Drew Neitzel (born May 7, 1985 in Grand Rapids , Michigan ) is a former American basketball player who played as a professional in Europe after studying in his native US state . After various positions in the German basketball league and in France, Neitzel was about to join the season squad of the then NBA champion Dallas Mavericks , but was released from his contractual relationship shortly before the start of the 2011/12 season . After playing in the NBA Development League (D-League), he returned to Europe and played in the Swiss National Basketball League for BBC Monthey .

Career

Neitzel, who, like his contemporary Kyle Visser from Grand Rapids native, had already during his school days at the high school a talented player and was in his senior -year as the best high school player of his State of the 2004 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball of Michigan appointed.

Then Neitzel went to study at Michigan State University and played under coach Tom Izzo for the Spartans , for whom basketball legend Magic Johnson was once active as a student, in NCAA Division I. In the ambitious university team, he was one of the most productive players during his four seasons and when he left in 2008 was one of only three players in the team's history to score more than 1,500 points and more than 500 assists for the Spartans. In addition, with a hit rate of slightly more than 86%, he was the safest free-throw shooter at the top of the university team's eternal ranking. In his first year in 2005, he reached the Final Four tournament of the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship with the Spartans . After two more finals, where they were eliminated relatively early, he reached the last sixteen Sweet Sixteen with his team in his senior year 2008 . For the US national team, he took part in the Pan American Games in 2007 , in which the selection of college players finished fifth.

In the NBA Draft in 2008 he was selected by any NBA team and went to the NBA Summer League team of the Minnesota Timberwolves after Germany's Artland Dragons from Quakenbrück in the basketball league . The team missed the play-offs and Neitzel personally could not quite meet expectations, so the contract was not extended after the season. Following the season, he appeared again in the NBA Summer League, this time for the Portland Trail Blazers . He did not succeed a second time to get a contract for the NBA main round of this league, so he again went to Europe in 2009, this time to the French Chalon-sur-Saone to first division Élan Sportif in the LNB Pro A . The team from Burgundy had a bad start to the season and as a result, Neitzel, among others, was dismissed after twelve games in December 2009. In January 2010 he got a contract with TBB Trier , where he was signed to replace the injured Brian Brown . For the following season, the Trier team brought Henrik Rödl as the new coach, in whose sporting concept Neitzel no longer had a place, so that the contract ended after the season. In January 2011 Neitzel benefited again from the injury of a colleague, so he was signed by the BBL promoted BBC Bayreuth as a replacement for Osvaldo Jeanty . In the end, thanks to Ekene Ibekwe, the relegation could be achieved for the promoted team.

December 2011 he received a trial contract with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. On December 21, 2011, he was released from the Mavericks and received no place in the final season squad. Neitzel then moved to the Texas Legends farm team in the NBA D-League . Here, however, he could not recommend himself for the commitment by an NBA club, whereupon he returned to Europe after the season and played at BBC Monthey in Switzerland. The contract was terminated during the 2012/13 season. The Swiss first division was the last stop in Neitzel's career as a professional basketball player. Returning to his home country, he worked  as an investment advisor in his hometown of Grand Rapids , ran youth basketball training camps and contributed to local basketball events as a commentator on broadcasts of college and high school games.

Web links

• Drew Neitzel (BBC Bayreuth) - player profile on the statistics pages of the BBL
• Drew Neitzel - player profile on the pages of LNB Pro A (French)
• Player Bio: Drew Neitzel - MICHIGAN STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE - Profile on the pages of the MSU Spartans (English)
• Drew Neitzel Stats - Michigan State Spartans - College season stats on statsheet.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Men's Basketball Media Guide 2009-10 / Records. Michigan State University , pp. 132/133 & 140 , accessed March 21, 2011 . 
2. ↑ Drew Neitzel strengthens the TBB Trier. (No longer available online.) TBB Trier , January 29, 2010, formerly in the original ; accessed on March 21, 2011 (media info).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
3. ↑ Drew Neitzel replaces injured Osvaldo Jeanty. (No longer available online.) BBC Bayreuth , January 31, 2011, formerly in the original ; accessed on March 21, 2011 (media info).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
4. ↑ https://www.20min.ch/ro/sports/autres/story/Petar-Aleksic-nouveau-coach-national-24026005?redirect=tmpl&nocache=0.24626537505537271&httpredirect
5. ↑ https://spartanavenue.com/2019/05/07/michigan-state-basketball-where-drew-neitzel-today/