Life has twists and turns that can bring challenges and opportunities at the same time. For the Salesian Pride, the transfer of Dominic Artis was such a moment. Fortunately, the Pride have not skipped a beat as junior guard Markel Leonard has seized the day with the opportunity to start in the backcourt.
Leonard is the No. 27 ranked prospect according to NorCalPreps.com while averaging 8 points, 1 rebound, 5 assists, and 1.5 steals as the Pride hold a 17 game winning streak going into the postseason. The 6-foot, 165 pound point guard is a versatile threat.
Bay Area Hoosiers Coach Philippe Doherty has worked extensively with Leonard. "Markel is a tough point guard who can lead and direct his team to success. He is a relentless on ball defender and unselfish play maker."
Artis' transfer to national powerhouse Findlay Prep was big news in the prep ranks. But Artis' commitment to UCLA, reneging on that commitment, and subsequent commitment to Oregon was also big news. The Pride's current starting point guard, Leonard may not yet be a nationally recognized recruit but has a laundry list of colleges that are impressive nevertheless.
Big Sky (Montana): "This conference is an under the radar conference with a lot of pretty good teams. The academics are pretty good also. These schools don't really get the top players but they develop the kids into the best basketball players as well as students as they can."
Big West (Cal Poly, Pacific, UC Davis, and UC Irvine): "The Big West usually has a team or two in the NCAA tournament that makes a little noise. I see this conference to be coming up in a few years. The schools in the conference have good academics as well."
Ivy league (Penn and Princeton): "The Ivy League has the best academics in America. They prepare their students for the real world and most become very good people in the world. As for the athletics side of this conference, I don't know too much and I am looking forward to catching some games on them so I can find out more about the conference."
Pac-12 (Arizona and Cal): "This is the best conference on the west side of the map. There are a lot of great teams in the Pac-12 that get a lot of great players. They usually have a good amount of teams that make the tournament and the teams always make noise while in there. I expect big things to come out of the Pac-12."
Sun Belt (Denver): "Sun Belt is a conference that doesn't make tons of noise in the postseason or regular season but when I watch them play on TV against larger schools, they usually are competing and staying in the game. I'm sure all those schools are great academically. I have to learn more about the conference."
WCC (Pepperdine, Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Clara): "To me, this conference is an excellent conference with a lot of great teams that don't really get the recognition they deserve. They always have two to three teams in the tournament and the academics are top notch up in the conference."
In this social media age, Leonard's three favorite Twitter handles that he follows are @KyrieIrving, @RajonRondo, and @StephenCurry30. Here is what he says about some of the top contemporary point guards.
Stephen Curry: "Curry is a poised point guard that I watch often due to his shooting ability and basketball IQ. Curry reminds me a lot of myself because he isn't a very high jumper but he is smart and uses a lot of ball fakes and double moves to get himself open. He also isn't very fancy with his dribble as he just knows how to get the job done, which is similar to myself."
Rajon Rondo: "Rondo is a very crafty point guard who uses his high basketball IQ to his advantage. He attacks the rim with the best and uses the glass very well. He also uses a ton of ball fakes to free up his teammates. Although he doesn't shoot well, he is an excellent passer. I try to be creative with my passes and ball fakes like Rondo."
Kyrie Irving: "Kyrie Irving is a new player that I just started watching. He has a great feel for the game and he never let's his defender speed him up. He is very under control and is an excellent decision maker. He also can shoot the ball pretty well. Kyrie also is a great defender."
"Markel has the ability to break down defenses and read defenses to help his team score whether it be by breaking down the defense off the dribble, or slicing passes to the open man, or hitting the open shot," continues Doherty.
For Salesian, they will presumably have the services of Leonard for the next two seasons. This Pride has truly seized the day in Richmond, California.
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