Women's basketball: Kennedy Leonard Leaves Her Mark at Colorado

The senior point guard will now prepare for the WNBA Draft.

It’s something special for a basketball player to be able to leave their mark on a school before graduating and/or turning pro. Colorado’s Kennedy Leonard will do just that as she leaves the Buffaloes as the program’s all-time leader in assists.

She reached that milestone early in the season in Colorado’s Pac-12 Conference opener against Utah. Although the Buffaloes ended up losing that game, Leonard surpassed former Colorado guard Bridget Turner whose mark of 617 assists stood since 1989.

While it’s a major accomplishment, it’s one that hasn’t quite hit Leonard herself just yet.

“Everyone asks me that, I haven’t really sat down and thought about it. But I think it’s pretty cool to be able to get that record and hopefully keep it growing over the next couple of games or last game, whatever it is,” Leonard told High Post Hoops. “I’m thankful that I’m able to leave a legacy, but hopefully someone comes along and breaks it one day.”

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For Buffaloes head coach JR Payne, Leonard’s lasting legacy at Colorado is going to go beyond her impact on the court. Payne first arrived in Colorado during Leonard’s sophomore season. The past three years, she’s watched her grow and develop not only into a complete point guard but as a leader as well.

One of the biggest things that have stood out to Payne has been Leonard’s desire to get better. Her tireless work ethic and determination to improve as a player.

“Kennedy loves the game, and I’ve told a lot of people she’s the hardest working kid I’ve ever coached. For three straight years, she’s without exception been the first player in the gym and the last one to leave. That’s pretty remarkable. Her legacy will definitely be left in that area of just tremendous work ethic,” Payne told High Post Hoops. “Kids grow up hearing that if you want something, you’ve got to work hard for it and she’s the epitome of that.”

Despite reaching Colorado’s assist milestone this season, and finishing in the top 10 in points and steals, it was trying year for Leonard. She suffered a foot injury back in December that caused her to miss 10 games.

During that stretch, Colorado struggled without their floor general. It was the first time in her career that she’s missed games due to injury and it snapped her streak of 100 consecutive games started. Although role as a senior was to naturally be a leader, Payne noticed that this season, in particular, Leonard embraced that role even more as she was on the sidelines.

The Buffaloes have a very young team and while Leonard wasn’t able to make contributions on the court for a while, she made sure she contributed to the growth of her younger teammates.

“Kennedy’s invested a lot of time in her teammates this year, especially since we have a very young team,” Payne said. “She invested a lot in them from the time they got here, kind of teach them the ropes, and really just set a tremendous example for hard work and what it takes to be successful at that level.”

TUCSON, AZ – FEBRUARY 17: Colorado Buffaloes guard Kennedy Leonard (14) dribbles the ball during a college women’s basketball game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Arizona Wildcats on February 17, 2019, at McKale Center in Tucson, AZ. (Photo by Jacob Snow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Although she missed a big portion of the season, Leonard still managed to turn in a quality final year in Colorado. She averaged a team-high 12.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists.

She was disappointed that she wasn’t able to help her team on the court as much as she wanted to, but overall she’s satisfied with her college career.

“It’s been awesome. This year I got hurt so that kind of stinks, but the overall experience was really cool and I’m glad I was a part of it,” Leonard said. “I got to meet many different people and got to experience so many different things.”

But the basketball journey is not over for Leonard. The WNBA Draft is right around the corner, inching closer with each day. Leonard’s name has appeared in different iterations of mock drafts.
Colorado fell in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament, and with her college career officially over, her sights will turn to preparing to play professional basketball. She’s confident that the skills she displayed in college can translate to a pro team.

“I think I’m a pretty good passer, I can see things on the court that not everybody else sees,” Leonard said. “I can shoot as well and I can finish around the rim pretty well. But overall just my ability to pass to the open teammate.”

Payne agrees that Leonard’s ability as an elite playmaker is the best attribute she can bring to the WNBA. Many basketball players are focused on scoring, but what sets her apart is her willingness to make the right play. More often than not, that constitutes making plays for her teammates.

“There’s only, I think, five players in America that have 600 career assists, and she’s one of them. She has tremendous court vision, she can find the right person at the right time, a great floor general in that regard,” Payne said. “I think she’s just a good all-around player. She’s top 10 in almost every statistical category for us except maybe rebounding, so she has a lot to offer.”

Playing pro basketball is something that Leonard has dreamed about for a while, and now that the opportunity to make that a reality is starting her in the face, she’s ready to seize that moment.

“Yeah, I want to go pro,” Leonard said. “It’s just getting in the gym, getting better, and hopefully going pro for as long as I can until can’t anymore.”

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