Johnny be gone

INDIANAPOLIS — With coach Johnny Neumann’s sudden termination, Lebanon faces an uncertain fate in the 13-nation basketball tournament at the 14th Asian Games in Busan on Sept. 29-Oct. 14.

It was the flamboyant Neumann who took Lebanon from seventh place at the 1999 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championships in Fukuoka to second in Shanghai last year. Finishing behind only China rewarded Lebanon with a ticket to the 16-nation, 11-day World Basketball Championships that ended here last Sunday.

Neumann, who turns 51 today, basked in the limelight for bringing Lebanon here. He took all the credit and made it clear who was responsible. That’s always been his style, said a jaded sportswriter who seemed to know the secrets of hoop vagabonds all over the globe.

Before the games started, Neumann promised a surprise. "My goal is to advance to the second round and play it from there," he said. "I know everybody in (our) group thinks that Lebanon is going to roll over and play dead but I think they will be surprised."

Neumann looked forward to coaching Lebanon against the U.S. "so that my players can realize what real basketball is all about."

In Shanghai, Neumann’s squad upset South Korea, 75-72, in the semis. In Fukuoka two years before, Lebanon also beat the Koreans, 75-65, without Neumann but the outspoken former University of Mississippi guard said the game was fixed. "The Koreans lost the game on purpose because if they had beaten Lebanon, they would have been in the same group as China," explained Neumann, a born-again Christian who has a tattoo of Jesus on his arm.

Neumann inked a two-year contract to coach the Lebanon national squad and lobbied for a three-year extension after his Shanghai success. His approach was to recruit players of Lebanese descent from all over the world and enlist them for the national team.

"You have to understand there’s a great population of Lebanese in Brazil, in Australia, actually more than there are Lebanese in Lebanon itself and we’re getting responses from some of those players," said Neumann. "If I stay in Lebanon after my contract expires, I will want to go to some of those countries and talk to some of those players about playing for the national team."

Lebanon showed up here with naturalized citizen Joe Vogel, the Seattle SuperSonics’ second round pick from Colorado State in the 1996 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. Vogel, a former import in Japan, acquired Lebanese citizenship by marrying a local girl. Under International Basketball Federation (FIBA) rules, a national team is allowed to recruit a single naturalized citizen. How a country naturalizes a citizen is its prerogative and FIBA is not in a position to question the process.

Neumann’s squad also listed 6-10 Paul Afeaki Khouri, a University of Utah product who like Vogel, once played in Japan as an import. Khouri’s mother is reportedly Filipina and his father is allegedly Lebanese. A Lebanese source said Khouri and his Filipina mother used to live in the US but now reside in Beirut. Another source insisted Khouri is Tongan like Asi Taulava and has no Lebanese descent. The source couldn’t confirm if Khouri is half-Filipino.

Other "outside" recruits in the Lebanon squad were 6-9 Roy Samaha and 5-10 Georges Chibani, both from Canada. Another "import" Richard Hallet, also from Canada, was left out of the team although he saw action in Shanghai. It’s not certain if Hallet will make a comeback in Busan.

There is talk that other "imports" who are supposed to be of Lebanese descent will play in the Asian Games.

At the World Championships, Lebanon was bracketed in Group B with Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Turkey. The Lebanese lost to Brazil by 29, to Puerto Rico by 22, and to Turkey by 27.

After three straight losses, Neumann tried to jump out of the hot seat and blamed the Lebanese federation for meddling with his coaching style. He said the federation paid no attention to the national team until it qualified to play here. And when the team qualified, the federation began to bark orders at Neumann.

"Typical Neumann," said a sportswriter. "If his team does okay, he’ll take the credit. If it doesn’t, he won’t take the responsibility. He’ll blame somebody else."

Within hours of Neumann’s verbal assault on the federation, he was fired. It was almost on the spot.

The day after Lebanon lost its third straight game, Lebanese Basketball Federation president Jean Hammam and secretary general Dr. Robert Abou-Abdallah issued a joint statement to the press appointing assistant coach Saskis Koryian to replace Neumann.

Neumann immediately packed his bags and left for his home in Athens. Koryian went on to coach Lebanon to further ignominy. Under Koryian, Lebanon bowed to Canada by 24 and Algeria by 30 to wind up dead last in the tournament.

As a consolation, Lebanese star Fady El Khatib and Vogel made it to the tournament’s top 15 scorers list. El Khatib averaged 17.6 points and Vogel 16.6. Veteran Elie Machantaf ranked No. 8 in free throw shooting at .867. Charles Bardawil was No. 15 in three-point shooting at .438. Three Lebanese cracked the top 15 in rebounding–No. 4 Vogel (9.0), No. 14 El Khatib (6.2) and No. 15 Khouri (6.0). El Khatib was tied at No. 4 in assists with a 4.4 clip and also tied at No. 1 in steals with 2.6 a game. On the downside, Machantaf was No. 1 in turnovers (4.0) and El Khatib No. 2 (3.6).

Neumann was sensational in his only year at Mississippi, averaging 40.1 points. Jumpin’ Johnny was 19 when he left school and became the No. 1 pick in the American Basketball Association (ABA) in 1971. He played five years in the ABA and two in the NBA before retiring from the majors in 1978 to begin a career in Europe. Neumann coached in Germany, Belgium, Greece, Cyprus and Kuwait before landing the job in Lebanon.

Busan won’t be as colorful without Neumann.