Colorado University Athletics
Leonard Invited To Great Britain U-20 Team Tryout
May 19, 2016 | Women's Basketball
BOULDER – University of Colorado guard Kennedy Leonard has received an invitation to try out for Great Britain's Under-20 women's basketball team this summer.
A Southlake, Texas native, Leonard recently became a British citizen by way of her mother, Lyndsey, a Scotland native, which allowed her to earn dual citizenship and the opportunity to compete for Great Britain at the U-20 European Championship.
“I'm excited for the opportunity,” Leonard said. “I think it's going to be a cool experience. Most of my mom's side of the family lives over there so I'll get to see my grandma and a lot of people I haven't seen since I was six or seven years old.”
Leonard is one of 16 players total and one of eight from the United States invited to the tryout. About 14 are expected to make the team. The soon-to-be sophomore will travel to Manchester to begin training in late June. If she earns a place on the squad, games begin the first part of July with stops in Ireland and Romania before the tournament gets underway in Montenegro. It will mark the first time in Leonard's career she will play on an international stage.
“Every time I go on the court, I want to do well and want the team to do well,” said Leonard. “I'm looking forward to that and just the experience, too, being able to go back over there and see where my mom started out and where my aunts and uncles are and then to just play in a place that isn't here. I'm excited. I've never really thought about going over there and playing. There's a ton of different rules and then the opportunity to meet new people and people who aren't from here and play basketball every day is probably going to be the coolest part about it.”
In her debut season for the Buffaloes, Leonard was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team by both league coaches and media, while also earning All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. She led the team in assists (4.6 apg) and steals (1.4 spg), and was second on the squad in scoring, averaging 12.1 points per contest. She closed out the year ranked sixth in the conference in assists, 15th in steals and 20th in scoring.
