The Longwood men's basketball team has been playing without one of its most seasoned players for the better part of two months. Durann Neil, a redshirt senior guard, decided to leave the team during the first part of December to focus on his education and a future career as a lawyer. Neil graduates in May and will be attending Rutgers School of Law-Camden, only 40 minutes from Neil's home in Pleasantville, N.J. His decision to leave the team also stemmed from not being able to devote 100 percent of his time to the game.
"It was best for me to pull away because I couldn't give maximum effort to the situation I was in. I wanted to concentrate on something that I'll be doing for the rest of my life," said Neil. The men's team travelled quite a bit during winter break, time that Neil needed to devote to his studies. He also had meetings with the deans of admissions at several law schools that could not be rescheduled.
Neil said he left the team on good terms. His teammates were supportive of his decision and encouraged him to do well in his endeavors. "I still see them every day. We still hang out. They might have aspirations to continue playing, but I don't."
Neil also expressed excitement over the university's announced move to the Big South Conference. "It's tremendous simply because the programs now have a goal that is attainable. Look at softball, they had a hell of a season last year and couldn't go anywhere with it. Now, they have conference and tournament play. It's great for Longwood sports."
Before his departure, Neil was averaging 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.
