Bobby Leonard

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Bobby Leonard
No. 21
Guard
Personal information
Born	(1932-07-17) July 17, 1932 Terre Haute, Indiana
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	Gerstmeyer (Terre Haute, Indiana)
College	Indiana (1951–1954)
NBA draft	1954 / Round: 2 / Pick: 10th overall
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Pro playing career	1956–1963
Career history
As player:
1956–1961	Minneapolis / Los Angeles Lakers
1961–1963	Chicago Packers / Zephyrs
As coach:
1962–1964	Chicago Zephyrs / Baltimore Bullets
1968–1980	Indiana Pacers
Career highlights and awards
As Player: NCAA champion (1953) Consensus NCAA All-American Second Team (1953) As Coach: 3× ABA champion (1970, 1972, 1973)
Career NBA statistics
Points	4,204 (9.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,217 (2.9 rpg)
Assists	1,427 (3.3 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

William Robert "Slick" Leonard (born July 17, 1932) is a former professional basketball player and coach. A 6'3" 185 lb (84 kg) guard, Leonard played high school basketball at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School, where he excelled as a tennis player, as well. He played collegiate basketball at Indiana University, where he hit the game winning free throws to give Indiana the 1953 NCAA championship. While at Indiana, he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.^[1]

He was selected with the first pick of the second round of the 1954 NBA Draft. He spent most of his seven-year professional playing career with the Lakers (four years in Minneapolis, and one year following the team's move to Los Angeles), followed by two years with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs). In his final season as a player, he also coached the Zephyrs. The next year, the team moved to Baltimore; Leonard coached them for one more year.

In 1968, Leonard became the coach of the American Basketball Association's Indiana Pacers, a position he held for nearly 12 years – the last four after the franchise moved to the NBA. For a time, he also served as general manager. Leonard led the Pacers to three ABA championships before the ABA-NBA merger in June 1976. However, the Pacers were nearly gutted in order to meet the financial burdens imposed by the merger, and he was never able to put together a winning team during the Pacers' first four years as an NBA team.

Leonard returned to the Pacers in 1985 as a color commentator, first for television, then on radio, where he remains alongside Mark Boyle on WIBC 93.1 FM. His trademark phrase is "Boom, baby!" for a successful three-point shot.^[2]

On March 13, 2011, Leonard suffered a heart attack shortly after a Pacers road victory over the New York Knicks.^[3] He was later said to be in good condition, but was given an indefinite time to recover, and was filled in for by Pacers TV analyst and former player Austin Croshere.^[4]

References

↑ The Rainbow, vol. 132, no. 2, p. 14,
↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlFvndobeJM
↑ http://www.wthr.com/story/14246421/pacers-bob-leonard-has-heart-attack
↑ http://www.indystar.com/proart/20110314/sports04/103140360/pacers-slick-leonard-recovering-from-heart-attack

External links

Indiana Pacers head coaches

Larry Staverman (1967–1968)
Bobby Leonard (1968–1980)
Jack McKinney (1980–1984)
George Irvine (1984–1986)
Jack Ramsay (1986–1988)
Mel Daniels (1988)
George Irvine (1988–1989)
Dick Versace (1989–1990)
Bob Hill (1990–1993)
Larry Brown (1993–1997)
Larry Bird (1997–2000)
Isiah Thomas (2000–2003)
Rick Carlisle (2003–2007)
Jim O'Brien (2007–2011)
Frank Vogel (2011– )

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Washington Wizards head coaches

Jim Pollard (1961–1962)
Jack McMahon (1962)
Bobby Leonard (1962–1964)
Buddy Jeannette (1964–1965)
Paul Seymour (1965–1966)
Mike Farmer (1966)
Buddy Jeannette # (1966)
Gene Shue (1966–1973)
K. C. Jones (1973–1976)
Dick Motta (1976–1980)
Gene Shue (1980–1986)
Kevin Loughery (1986–1988)
Wes Unseld (1988–1994)
Jim Lynam (1994–1997)
Bob Staak # (1997)
Bernie Bickerstaff (1997–1999)
Jim Brovelli # (1999)
Gar Heard (1999–2000)
Darrell Walker # (2000)
Leonard Hamilton (2000–2001)
Doug Collins (2001–2003)
Eddie Jordan (2003–2008)
Ed Tapscott (2008–2009)
Flip Saunders (2009–2012)
Randy Wittman (2012– )

Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.

Bobby Leonard—championships, awards, and honors

v t e Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball 1952–53 NCAA Champions

13 Charlie Kraak 21 Bob Leonard 25 Burke Scott 31 Dick Farley 34 Don Schlundt Head Coach Branch McCracken Assistant Coach Ernie Andres

v t e Indiana Pacers 1969–70 ABA Champions

11 Bill Keller 12 John Barnhill 14 Freddie Lewis 24 Bob Netolicky 32 Jay Miller 33 Ollie Darden 34 Mel Daniels 35 Roger Brown (Playoffs MVP) 43 Art Becker 44 Tom Thacker Head Coach Bobby Leonard

v t e Indiana Pacers 1971–72 ABA Champions

10 Rick Mount 11 Bill Keller 14 Freddie Lewis (Playoffs MVP) 20 Darnell Hillman 24 Bob Netolicky 30 George McGinnis 34 Mel Daniels 35 Roger Brown Head Coach Bobby Leonard

v t e Indiana Pacers 1972–73 ABA Champions

10 Don Buse 11 Bill Keller 13 Donnie Freeman 14 Freddie Lewis 20 Darnell Hillman 22 Bob Arnzen 23 Gus Johnson 24 Bill Newton 30 George McGinnis (Playoffs MVP) 34 Mel Daniels 35 Roger Brown Head Coach Bobby Leonard

v t e 1954 NCAA Men's Basketball Consensus All-Americans

First Team	Tom Gola Cliff Hagan Bob Pettit Don Schlundt Frank Selvy

Second Team	Bob Leonard Tom Marshall Bob Mattick Frank Ramsey Dick Ricketts

v t e 1954 NBA Draft

First round	Frank Selvy Bob Pettit Gene Shue Dick Rosenthal Togo Palazzi Johnny Kerr Tom Marshall Jack Turner Ed Kalafat

Second round	Bobby Leonard Bob Mattick Larry Costello Arnold Short Red Morrison Dick Farley Boris Nachamkin Richie Guerin Al Bianchi

Persondata
Name	Leonard, Bobby
Alternative names	Leonard, William Robert; Leobard, Slick
Short description	American basketball player and coach
Date of birth	July 17, 1932
Place of birth	Terre Haute, Indiana
Date of death
Place of death

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