Colorado University Athletics
Buffs' Leonard Makes Most Of European 'Vacation'
September 07, 2016 | Women's Basketball, Neill Woelk
CU guard plays for Great Britain U-20 team
BOULDER — While most of Kennedy Leonard's Colorado basketball teammates were in Boulder over the summer participating in conditioning work, Leonard enjoyed a European vacation.
Except it wasn't exactly a vacation, at least not in the traditional sense.
Leonard did travel to Great Britain, Ireland, Romania and Montenegro, and she did get to travel with her parents on the trip.
But there was no beach time and precious little sightseeing.
Instead, what Leonard saw most were basketball gyms. Lots of gyms in lots of places, which meant she was doing what she loves most — playing the game. Ten games in a month, to be exact, along with a weeklong training camp of two-a-days and regular practices in between the games. She learned, she improved and — she hopes — crafted her game to the point that she can be an even bigger influence on the Buffs' fortunes in her second year with the program.
Oh, and she did all those things while playing for Great Britain's U-20 National Team.
"It was a great experience," Leonard said. "I saw some really interesting places, I played a lot of basketball and I had the opportunity to work on my game. I got to play with different coaches and different players, which was really good experience.
"Really, apart from the bed bugs, it was a great time."
Ah, the bed bugs. Leonard, a sophomore guard from Southlake, Texas, did have the unfortunate experience of encountering the unpleasant little critters in a hostel in Bucharest, Romania, where the team stayed for several days. It was the same hostel that didn't have air conditioning in the midst of a Romanian heat wave (temperatures hovered near 100 degrees), and the same place where the gym in which the team practiced and played also wasn't blessed with that American comfort.
But the important thing was that she did get to play plenty of basketball.
"Usually, you don't play a lot in the summer," Leonard said. "Most of the time, you're just working out and conditioning. Getting to play games is the best part of basketball, and I'm excited to see how it helps me when we start practice."
Leonard qualified for the English team because her mother was born in Scotland. Leonard and her sisters hold dual-citizenship, and when British officials called to see if she'd be interested in playing, she jumped at the opportunity. It offered her the chance to visit some of her family she rarely gets to see — her grandmother and aunt still live in York — and her parents traveled with her.
The first part of her trip involved a rigorous seven-day training camp in Manchester. That was followed by two "friendlies" in Ireland and another two exhibitions in Romania.
Then came the European U-20 Championships, where England finished fifth with a 3-3 record — one of the best showing by Great Britain in recent years. Leonard was a big part of the success, finishing as the tournament's 11th-leading scorer (12.7 points per game) and sixth-best in assists (3.5 per game).
Her averages might have been even higher had she not missed most of her final game after getting knocked to the floor by an opposing player.
"I was going for a layup and one of their players just hit my chin with her fist," Leonard said. "I went down and my head hit the ground pretty hard. They were pretty worried at first because they thought I'd hurt my neck. They tried to put me on a stretcher, and then they didn't know how to work the stretcher."
But, Leonard said, "It probably looked worse than it was. It really wasn't too bad. It was just a little concussion … it probably doesn't even count as one."
What Leonard does know will count is next season, the team's first under new coach JR Payne. After a disappointing 2015-16 season, she believes the Buffs are ready to turn the program's fortunes this year.
"We've already had this talk as a team a couple of times," Leonard said. "We're going to work extremely hard, we're going to be disciplined and we're going to play defense. We're still going to make mistakes, but I think you'll see a new kind of team, a new presence. You can just feel a new attitude and you know the coaches care about you. Even in the heat of the moment and the grind, you know the coaches care. We're doing everything together because we're all in it together now."
Leonard started 29 of 30 games as a true freshman last season, averaging 12.1 points per game (second-best on the team) to go with a team-high 139 assists. She was also third on the team in rebounding, averaging 3.6 per game.
"Because I got to practice so much, I think I improved," Leonard said. "I think my shot is a little better and I think my ability to lead had a chance to grow. I was able to see things from a different perspective, and it was a big help.
"Hopefully, I can help the team this year. What we did last year wasn't acceptable for anybody. We might not win every game, but it's the year that we're going to turn this thing around in the right direction. It's not going to be easy, but things that are worth it aren't easy."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
