Brooks: Leonard Shows Exceptional Ability To Run The Show

BOULDER – It was early November and the Colorado women's basketball team was several days away from a dress rehearsal (an exhibition game if you prefer) against South Carolina-Aiken. Dress rehearsal, exhibition, or the real thing, coaches preach preparedness – which is what CU's Linda Lappe wanted.

In a casual encounter with her two freshmen guards – Kennedy Leonard and Alexis Robinson – Lappe told both to drop by the basketball office for some extra tape study of SC-Aiken. Leonard's reply was something on the order of, “Oh, we started that last night on YouTube . . . we've seen most of their games from last season.”

No definitive word on Lappe's response, but we can assume whatever was said was accompanied by a smile. Maybe even an unspoken, “You're kidding me.”

Leonard laughs about it now, explaining that on that particular night in their dorm room – with academic work presumably finished, of course – she and Robinson concluded that visiting an opponent's website wouldn't be a waste of time.

They have done it for most games since. “We went to their page, watched videos, saw who had played in AAU,” Leonard said. “We did it for Kentucky, CSU, Missouri . . . it's fun to watch and see what different teams are doing and how we might play them.”

It also offers sharp insight into a freshman's dedication to hoops, her quest to be the best – and the future of the Buffs backcourt.

Leonard is a rarity, a point guard whose court vision might not be any more comprehensive unless her brain was linked to an overhead camera. She seems to see open teammates before they're open. Getting them the ball with 100 percent accuracy is like asking a quarterback to complete every pass – an eternal work in progress. Nonetheless, she's pretty good at it.

Leonard, of Southlake, Texas, is tied for fifth in assists (5.2 a game) in the Pac-12 Conference. Her assist-turnover ratio – 5.2 to 3.4 – reveals room for improvement, but it still positions her at No. 15 in the Pac-12. And Leonard can score: she's 12th in the conference in points per game (12.4).

Her college career has had an impressive start, and teamed with Robinson, the Buffs boast the best pair of freshman guards they've had in quite a while. They are coached by second-year assistant Jamie Carey, who knows more than a little about being a precise point guard and last season made an immediate impact in tutoring now-sophomore Brecca Thomas before welcoming Leonard and Robinson this season.

CAREY'S BASKETBALL RESUME IS ALMOST too jaw-dropping to be real: 1999 Ms. Colorado Basketball (Horizon) . . . 2000 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (Stanford) . . . two-time All-Big 12 Conference selection (Texas) . . . Jim Valvano Comeback Player of the Year (2004, after concussions sidelined her at Stanford) . . . NCAA Woman of the Year (2005) . . . WNBA career (Phoenix, Connecticut) . . . USA Basketball administrator . . . Successful high school coach (Legacy, Sand Creek).

When Carey says a point guard impresses her, listen. Of the 5-8 Leonard, she says, “The first thing you notice is her court awareness and vision. That kind of feel for the game isn't taught, it's an innate feel of how games flow and where people are on the floor . . . it's fun to see her in those open-floor moments where she can show off her vision.

“But she's a point guard with different skill sets. She's got a nice shot and she passes well. And how well she plays the defensive end has been a surprise.”

Another bonus has been something the basketball public usually doesn't see – Leonard immersing herself in the daily grind. “She's in my office or texting me or emailing me . . . she does the extra work every day,” Carey said, adding that Leonard carries that attitude to practice. “That's remarkable for a freshman. That's what I've been impressed with the most – her drive to get better.”

The recruitment of Leonard and Robinson was complete by the time Carey arrived at CU in mid-June, 2014. Still, Carey, through her work with USA Basketball, was well aware of the talent and capabilities of both players.

The 5-10 Robinson, said Carey, has shown more of a scorer's mentality that is enhanced by “a beautiful pull-up jumper” and the ability to “hang in the air when she attacks the basket. She's a creator with the ball and has the mindset to attack. She really just has a fun style of play to coach.”

Leonard and Robinson became fast friends at CU. Leonard committed first and encouraged Robinson, of Ashland, Ky., to join her. “We're inseparable now,” Leonard said. “We do everything together, and that's worked well on the court.”

Carey agreed, noting that their styles of play and skillsets have been complementary: “'Lex' has learned to run the floor, see the floor a little better and read cuts . . . and both of them play very hard. It makes for a nice, natural mixture. And Brecca fits in very well. They've all meshed.”

Until Leonard arrived at CU last summer and did an impromptu Internet vetting, she wasn't aware of Carey's history. When Leonard was in grade school in Naperville, Ill., she frequently watched future All-American (Tennessee) and WNBA star (L.A. Sparks) Candace Parker play at Central High School.

Although Parker was a 6-4 forward who would become the first woman to dunk in NCAA Tournament play, her overall game inspired Leonard. But Leonard still considered her father, Kyle, as her basketball mentor “who got me started. He loves the game and I want to give back to him.”

But Leonard has added Carey to her mentoring list. “Me and 'Lex' really look up to Coach Jamie,” Leonard said.

CONSIDERING HER RELATIONSHIP WITH her dad and the fact that he and his wife, Lyndsey, are Colorado State alums (Lyndsey swam for the Rams), Kennedy's signing with CU might be a mild surprise to some.

Not so much for her; CSU's recruitment was lukewarm at best. In fact, CU's first contact with Leonard was a “generic recruiting letter,” she said. But assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Kelly Rae Finley followed up and proposed an official visit. Leonard accepted.

“I knew where I wanted to go . . . I had fallen in love with the school and I consider my teammates family now,” she said.

The Buffs play two non-conference games – Saturday vs. Presbyterian, 3:30 p.m., Coors Events Center; Monday at Wyoming, 7 p.m. – before beginning their Pac-12 schedule with visits from Washington (Jan. 2) and Washington State (Jan. 4).

Before conference play begins, Carey would like to see incremental improvement in Leonard's on-court leadership – “Her on-court voice” –and game-management skills. She doesn't expect Leonard to “get in the huddle and get them pumped up – that's probably going to come in time.”

But what Carey does expect is for Leonard to take more vocal responsibility in identifying and calling out screens, realizing the value of each possession and cutting down turnovers, recognizing when to push, when to pull back . . .

None of that comes as news to Leonard: “Coach Jamie wants to hear my voice, for me to see and know what's going on and communicate that,” she said.

And Carey sees signs of that happening: “She's been incredibly receptive and made big improvements already. The small leadership things she's working on now will work themselves into the bigger moments.”

Leonard, Robinson and the rest of the Buffs believe those are on the way.

Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU