Meyers Leonard

Meyers Leonard
No. 11 – Portland Trail Blazers
Position Center
League NBA
Personal information
Born February 27, 1992
Woodbridge, Virginia
Nationality American
Listed height 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight 245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school Robinson (Robinson, Illinois)
College Illinois (2010–2012)
NBA draft 2012 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11th overall
Selected by the Portland Trail Blazers
Pro career 2012–present
Career history
2012–present Portland Trail Blazers
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Meyers Patrick Leonard (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Illinois.[1] He was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.[2]

Early life

Leonard, born in Woodbridge, Virginia,[3] grew up in Robinson, Illinois, a small town roughly at the boundary between central and southern Illinois. When he was six years old, his father James, a golf pro, was killed in a freak bicycle accident. His mother Tracie, once an athlete who would run upwards of 10 miles a day, had been largely housebound since her husband's death, victimized by an old horseback injury and subsequent disc surgery that left her with crippling pain.[4]

When he was in second grade, the young Leonard gained a surrogate family. Brian Siler, an insurance agent in Robinson who had a son of the same age, was aware of Leonard's family situation, and eventually became a father figure. Leonard regularly attended the Silers' church and went on family vacations. According to ESPN.com writer Dana O'Neil,

"Looking to shoehorn the relationship into a convenient box, outsiders have called this Meyers' version of The Blind Side, but the comparison is inaccurate. The book and subsequent movie tell the story of Michael Oher, a boy who was homeless and didn't have much of a family life. Meyers Leonard has a family. It has not abandoned him. On the contrary, Tracie loves her son, loves him so much that she was willing to accept help."[4]

High school

Leonard entered high school as a guard, but was converted to center after a six-inch (15 cm) growth spurt between his freshman and sophomore years. O'Neil called him "something of a basketball anomaly", adding that Leonard "gained all that height without losing his coordination or his fast-twitch muscles."[4]

In high school, Leonard was named a member of the 2010 Illinois All-American Team as selected by the Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, News-Gazette, and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Leonard led Robinson High School to the IHSA class 2A state championship[5] before choosing to play collegiate basketball at the University of Illinois.

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Meyers Leonard
C		 Robinson, IL Robinson High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jul 29, 2008 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (C)   Rivals: 6 (C)  ESPN: 4 (C)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College

Leonard playing for Illinois

Freshman

Entering the University of Illinois during the 2010–11 season, Leonard averaged 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 8.2 minutes per game.[6]

Sophomore

As a sophomore at the University of Illinois, Leonard averaged 13.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.[6] Leonard was named Big 10 Co-Player of the Week on December 5, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in two Illinois victories.[7] Leonard was also named Big 10 Player of the Week on December 26, 2011 after averaging 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in two games.[8] Following the season, Leonard was named Honorable Mention All Big-10.[9]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Illinois 33 1 8.2 .483 .000 .706 1.2 .2 .2 .4 2.1
2011–12 Illinois 32 30 31.8 .584 .091 .732 8.2 1.3 .5 1.9 13.6

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers

Leonard was drafted with the 11th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2012 NBA draft. On July 13, 2012, he signed a multi-year deal with the Trail Blazers.[10][11]

On October 31, 2012, Leonard made his NBA debut, logging 23 minutes and scoring four points.[12] He made his first career start on November 21, 2012 against the Phoenix Suns, where he finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds.[13]

On April 27, 2015, Leonard recorded 13 points in 35 minutes on 5-6 shooting (3-3 from 3) in a playoff win against the Memphis Grizzlies. This was a playoff career high in points for Meyers, and along with his 13 points he also grabbed 13 rebounds and 2 assists to stave off elimination. [14]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Portland 69 9 17.5 .545 .429 .809 3.7 .5 .2 .6 5.5
2013–14 Portland 40 0 8.9 .451 .000 .762 2.8 .5 .2 .1 2.5
2014–15 Portland 55 7 15.4 .510 .420 .938 4.5 .6 .2 .3 5.9
Career 164 16 14.7 .517 .400 .831 3.8 .5 .2 .3 4.9

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014 Portland 4 0 2.3 .000 .000 .000 .5 .0 .0 .0 .0
2015 Portland 5 0 21.2 .667 .769 .500 6.6 1.0 .4 .4 7.8
Career 9 0 12.8 .609 .769 .500 3.5 .6 .2 .2 4.3

Personal

Leonard's older brother, Bailey, is a U.S. Marine who has served in Afghanistan.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Powers, Scott (April 13, 2012). "Meyers Leonard to enter NBA draft". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ Leonard goes 11th in NBA draft
  3. ↑ Meyers Leonard NBA & ABA Stats
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 O'Neil, Dana (January 25, 2012). "Meyers Leonard shoulders plenty". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  5. ↑ Helfgot, Mike (March 14, 2010). "Class 2A championship: Derek Hannahs cashes in on overtime opportunities to lead Robinson to victory". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Meyers Leonard Profile". FightingIllini.com. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Illinois, Indiana and Michigan State Claim Weekly Accolades". BigTen.org. December 5, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Leonard Named Big Ten Player of the Week Again". FightingIllini.com. December 26, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ "2011–12 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Team" (PDF). cstv.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  10. ↑ Damian Lillard, Meyers Leonard sign Trail Blazers rookie contracts
  11. ↑ Blazers Officially Announce Signings Of Damian Lillard & Meyers Leonard
  12. ↑ Lakers fall to Trail Blazers as Steve Nash exits with injury
  13. ↑ Marcin Gortat scores 22 as Suns blow out Blazers
  14. ↑ http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/6605/meyers-leonard
  15. ↑ Marine surprises brother after not seeing him for 2 years

External links