Drew Neitzel
| Drew Neitzel | |
|---|---|
| College | Michigan State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Position | Guard |
| Class | Senior |
| Major | Interdisciplinary Humanities |
| Career | 2004–present |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Nationality | USA |
| Born | May 7, 1985 Grand Rapids, Michigan |
| High school | Wyoming Park High School, Wyoming, Michigan |
Drew Neitzel (born May 7, 1985) is an American collegiate men's basketball player in the NCAA. He is a senior at Michigan State University and wears the number 11, although he wore the number 12 in his freshman season. Neitzel's primary position is guard. He is listed at 6-0, 180 lbs.
High school career
Neitzel attended Wyoming Park High School in Wyoming, Michigan, playing for Coach Thom Vander Klay. He holds the school career records for points (2,462) and assists (692), while ranking second in the state in assists and sixth in scoring. Graduating in 2004, Neitzel received many honors and awards, including the 2004 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball of Michigan. He was also awarded membership on the 2004 Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News Dream Team, Associated Press Class B Player of the Year, 2004 fourth-team Parade Magazine All-American, and Class B Academic All-State.
Collegiate career
Neitzel started off his college basketball career in 2004-05. He appeared in 33 games, starting 14 of the final 15 contests. Ranked second on the team with 97 assists (2.9 per game) and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.06-to-1, he led all Big Ten freshmen in assists and led the Michigan State Spartans in assists in seven games. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshmen Team. He was a key part of a Spartan team that reached the Final Four, losing to eventual champion North Carolina.
During the 2005-06 season Neitzel started all 34 games at point guard averaging 8.3 points per contest and ranking third in the Big Ten in assists (5.56) first in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.86) and sixth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.404). So far in the 2006-07 season he is averaging 18.5 ppg and has started all 28 games played, averaging 35.2 minutes per game at shooting guard. He has 3.0 rebounds per game and 4.3 assists per game.
On February 20, 2007 MSU faced off against AP #1-ranked Wisconsin. Neitzel had one of the best games of his career racking up 28 points and going 6-11 from beyond the arc. MSU won 64-55, marking only the second time that the school had beaten the #1 team in the AP poll.
On February 28, 2007 Neitzel was named First-Team All-District 11 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. This honor makes him eligible for the All-American Teams at the end of the season.
As of March 6, 2007 Neitzel was named to the First-Team All-Big Ten. Neitzel finished the regular season averaging 18.3 points per game, ranking fourth in the Big Ten. In conference games, he ranked third in scoring (18.3 ppg). He leads the conference in free-throw percentage (.884) and 3-point field goals made (3.2 per game), and ranks among the leaders in minutes played (2nd, 35.3 mpg) and assists (6th, 4.1 apg). He scored 20 or more points in 15 games, and averaged 25.8 points against the top two teams in the league, Ohio State and Wisconsin. He was selected as the Big Ten's Player of the Week three times (Nov. 20, Nov. 27 and Feb. 26) and was named National Player of the Week by ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Feb. 26. Among his other accolades, Neitzel was chosen to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason All-America team, and is one of 22 players who will appear on the final national ballot. [1]
Neitzel has been known to be very adept at using either hand to finish the job. His dead-eye three-point shooting is largely due to coming off multiple screens, for he rarely has the ability to create his own shot off the dribble without said screens.
References
Michigan State Bio [2]
Neitzel Earns NABC All-District Honors [3]
Spartan SportsZone Magazine