Woelk: Leonard Leaves Lasting Impact On and Off the Court
February 24, 2019 | Women's Basketball
The senior reflects on her four years as a Buff
BOULDER — Kennedy Leonard has undoubtedly left an indelible stamp on the Colorado women's basketball program.
When the CU senior finally wraps up her illustrious career — she will play her final regular season home game Sunday in a 1 p.m. game against Washington — her place in the Colorado record books will be prominent, to say the least.
Leonard, who came to Boulder four years ago from Southlake, Texas, will leave as the program's all-time assist leader (642 and counting), a place she earned earlier this year when she surpassed CU Hall of Famer Bridget Turner. She will also leave with her name among the all-time top 10 in steals (currently 231) and scoring (currently 1,597), along with twice being named a first-team All-Pac-12 player by the coaches and media.
But Leonard's legacy will reach far beyond the numbers in the record book. Leonard's impact will be felt in years to come because of the example she set preparing to play the game.
Simply put, Leonard's work ethic is one that has set a standard for the program.
"I've said many times she's the hardest working player I've ever coached as far as time in the gym, never wanting to lose a rep or miss a rep," CU head coach JR Payne said. "She's had little nicks and bruises over the years, and we used to have this running joke that she thought the trainer and I were conspiring against her because if she had to miss a single rep in practice, she was mad."
That tireless approach, Payne said, is something young players see and try to emulate.
"Her work ethic is hard for anyone to miss," Payne said. "For young players to come in and see it, look at it and say, 'Oh wow, that's what success looks like,' is great. We're going to miss that. She has motivated and inspired her teammates in that way — they know what it takes to be successful."
Despite the numbers, Leonard's senior season has by no means gone the way she planned. A foot injury sidelined her early in Pac-12 play, forcing her to miss 10 consecutive games. She finally came back last week in a reserve role against Arizona, then returned to the starting lineup Friday night to score 12 points and dish out eight assists in a 72-61 win over Washington State.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with basketball-wise," Leonard said. "I'd played every game in my college career and had missed just one start, in my freshman year. I've been on the court for a lot of minutes. It was a reminder of how quickly it can go away."
For someone whose life revolved around the game, it was also an eye-opening experience. Through no choice of her own, Leonard had to see life from some other angle than the gym.
"I had to find myself in other areas," she said. "Someone asked me recently how much of my identity did I find in basketball before I got hurt, and I would have said 99 percent. I was always in the gym, always doing things trying to get better.
"But over the past month, I spent more time outside of the gym than I have in my whole 22 years of life. If I learned anything, I Iearned I don't have to put so much pressure on myself. The game's supposed to be fun, and it's a lot more fun when you make it fun."
Leonard has been a part of some big moments at Colorado. She helped CU to a WNIT bid and first-round win as a sophomore, and also played in wins over ranked teams Miami and Kentucky. She owns 10 career double-doubles, has the school record for assists in a season (200) and is tied for the school record in assists in a game (13).
"One of the things I love about Kennedy is that she wants to make her teammates show well and play well," Payne said. "She loves to score the ball as well — it's why she has over 1,500 points — but she's just as happy with a nice assist that allows someone else to score. It's shown since she was a freshman that she loves to share the ball and get everyone involved and make everyone look good."
Leonard and fellow senior Alexis Robinson will make their final home regular season appearance on Sunday.
"I like to think Lex and I have left a foundation here," Leonard said. "We didn't make as many postseasons as we would have liked and we didn't win a ton of games, but I think we've left the people here with a better plan to handle what comes their way. I think we've helped them learn how to deal with adversity. Hopefully down the road, they can look back when they are seniors and say, 'Hey, we've handled this before. We know how to do this. It's not something we haven't seen before.'"
Meanwhile, down the stretch of her career, Leonard plans to enjoy every possible moment.
"It hit me when I finally came back (from the injury) and played against Arizona," she said. "I realized how much I missed it and how much I loved it. It reminded me how much I'm going to miss playing for Colorado, playing with that name across my chest."
Now, she said, the plan is simple.
"Enjoy every moment of it down the stretch," she said. "Everything that comes my way, enjoy it and remember that it's a game. I'm blessed to have the opportunity and I want to take advantage of that."
Contact:Â Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
