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Princeton University Athletics
One on One with Conor Neu '02
July 03, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Conor Neu returned to Princeton this past June for class reunions. He spent some time to answer a few questions for GoPrincetonTigers.com:
Conor Neu at Princeton:
Paul Richard Friedman '81 Award - 2002
Ivy League Champions 2001, 2002
NCAA Tournament 2001
NIT Tournament 2000, 2002
What have you been doing since graduation in 2002?
After graduating in 2002, I moved to Hawaii to begin work with a start-up, Asia-focused, boutique hedge fund, Evolution Capital Management, which was founded by Michael Lerch '93. I have been with the firm ever since, although I have been in the L.A. office for the past five years. Most recently, our company purchased a Japanese professional basketball team, the Tokyo Apache, and I was appointed General Manager of the team.
How are you approaching this latest venture? Will your experiences with the Princeton Basketball team influence your approach to your task?
I am very excited about this latest opportunity with the Tokyo Apache. I get to combine my interest in basketball and Japan and apply that toward an entrepreneurial situation with the acquisition of this team. I could not do this without my experience playing Princeton Basketball. The education on the court and off the court provided me with many basketball tools that I had almost forgotten completely until diving back into the game with this new position. The network is also fantastic as I have already been able to reach out to the many of the Princeton coaches around college basketball for help and advice.
Can you share with us some of the duties you've already undertaken as GM in the offseason and the duties you're anticipating doing once your season begins?
So far the offseason has been quite busy. One day after we purchased the team, we had to extend offers to the existing Japanese players on the team in order to retain their rights for next season. The new player and expansion draft immediately followed and then we had to get offers out to the foreign players to maintain their rights. Since then, things cooled down on the player front as we can take a little time to re-sign everyone. However, I spent a lot of time finding a coach and we were very excited to announce last week that we hired longtime NBA head coach Bob Hill as the next coach of the Tokyo Apache. Going forward, I'll spend the rest of the summer evaluating players with Coach Hill to find a few new American players to add to our roster, preparing for the pre-season camp, and preparing our practice and game facilities for the season.
Once the season begins, I expect for things to slow down on the player and coach side. However, I am sure there will be many other duties that will keep me busy, such as marketing, working on the corporate relations and sponsorships, and working on longer-term team plans such as changing arenas and international promotions and games.
What advice would you give students looking to follow your career path?
My computer science degree led me toward software programming until I randomly landed with a financial firm with a tech focus. Four years studying technology, eight years working in finance and now I am on to sports management. It does not make sense until you look at the people with whom I am working. I initially found out about the job through [former assistant] coach Mike Brennan '94. Since then, the same networking and business relationships have defined how our company has grown and how we eventually acquired this basketball team. So, my advice would be to figure out what you enjoy in life and work hard at it and along the way spend your free time building relationships.
You recently returned to campus to participate in the men's basketball alumni pick-up game and reunion festivities. What is it like to return to Princeton and spend time with former members and current members of the Princeton Basketball program?
This was my first time back on campus in three years so it was a great reunion with the people, campus, and gym. It was also my wife's first ever visit to campus so that made it special. Of all the tours around campus and the different class reunions, the basketball reunion is my favorite. It is great to see a great group of guys that you don't see often and have time to recap about the glory days of old. Then, meeting the new players and coaches makes it even more special because you know not only what they are going through but what is to come for them. I am looking forward to my next reunion already.
Do you spend time following Princeton Basketball and the current members of the team?
I read some online articles and I keep an eye on the box scores throughout the year. It's been difficult for me to get back to campus for a game. Fortunately, I do hear about the team from other former players who are able to make it to a game every so often.
Thanks for your time, Conor. For your parting words, please finish this sentence:
Princeton Basketball is..."an incredible facility for higher education in sports."