Here is an article about him from his hometown.
...
Make no mistake about it, Meyers Leonard is the biggest star to call the Crawford County town of less than 8,000 home.
But now, with the admirers gone from the Robinson High gym, Leonard isn’t being treated like a star.
Wearing gray Nikes, red Trail Blazers game shorts and a white Meyers Leonard camp T-shirt, the two-year NBA veteran is being put through an individual workout by Portland assistant coach Kim Hughes, a native of Freeport in town to help Leonard with his camp. Jump shots from both baselines, both wings and the top of the key. Free throws, jumpers off pick-and-pop and layups off pick-and-roll.
“If you miss the shot and you don’t follow it and get the rebound, you owe me four down-and-backs,” Hughes tells Leonard.
Two years after he was drafted 11th overall by Portland, Leonard hasn’t made an impact in the league. He’s been criticized: The numbers he posted as a rookie (5.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 17.5 minutes in 69 games) dropped last season (2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 8.9 minutes in 40 games).
“It was an up-and-down year,” Leonard said. “But I’ve learned a lot more and gotten a lot better than what people can see from the outside looking in.”
Leonard remains confident. Teammates, most of whom gushed publicly about his skill and potential at the end of the season, know what he’s capable of. Most important, the coaches in Portland believe the 245-pound freak of an athlete will soon be a solid contributor.
“He does have great potential,” said the 62-year-old Hughes, a former Wisconsin standout who played for the Nets, Nuggets and Cavaliers. “I think he’s going to be very good.”
The 6-foot-11 Hughes, a former Nuggets and Clippers assistant who was the Clippers’ interim head coach for 33 games in 2010, said Leonard deserved more minutes last season than he got, but with the team making a playoff run, Portland didn’t use its bench much.
Hughes said Leonard’s outside shot is solid, and his still-developing post game is serviceable. It’s at the defensive end where Leonard needs to make his most improvement.
“The things he has to work on is challenging shots more often,” Hughes said. “If he just assumes a presence defensively, he’s a help defender, he’ll get a few more minutes. That’s typical of big men in our league, he’s got to get minutes to get better. Until he gets more minutes on the floor, he’s going to be a little bit behind in terms of progression. But all big guys get better by playing; none of them get better by watching.”
The relationship between Leonard and Hughes is player-coach, but each considers the other to be a dear friend. It’s part of the reason Hughes traveled with Leonard to help out with his camp, which will benefit Robinson High School, Highland Church of Christ and help contribute to the medical bills of one of Leonard’s close friends from his hometown who recently discovered he had a brain tumor.
During a quick lunch between camp sessions at Los Jardines Mexican Restaurant, Hughes kids Leonard for burying his nose in his iPhone as well as his order: chicken, steak and grilled onions smothered with cheese and three tortillas.
The relationship with Hughes is why Leonard says he has no regrets about leaving Illinois with two years of eligibility remaining.
“I just look at my situation and it seems like every time I have a big step in my life, someone is there for me to help me, and Kim is exactly that,” Leonard said. “Who knows if I come out a year later if he’s going to be there or what team I end up going to.”
But the NBA is about production, not friendships, and Leonard and Hughes know that for Leonard to stick around, he’s going to have to start contributing more — and soon.
Leonard has one more guaranteed year on his rookie contract that will pay him about $2.3 million next season, while the Blazers hold a team option for the following year.
“I have to prove myself, be assertive, show the coaches I’m worthy and go to my strengths on the court,” Leonard said. “I can shoot the ball, finish around the rim and continue to work on defensive rebounding. As long as I do that, they’ll respect that and I’ll continue to get more minutes.”
Hughes, who has worked with Chris Kaman, DeAndre Jordan, Elton Brand, Antonio McDyess and Blake Griffin, doesn’t think Leonard is far away. And there isn’t much separating Leonard from Robin Lopez and Joel Freeland, the big men ahead of him on the Portland depth chart.
“Some of it’s chemistry. It’s a mental thing, and we work on it all the time. His confidence is there,” Hughes said. “He just needs to make that next step defensively where he’s more of a team, help defender. He can, and I think he will.”
Leonard, 22, has handled the ups and downs of his career with the maturity of someone much older while maintaining his youthful, sometimes- immature charm.
“I don’t think he’s necessarily a mature kid, but I’m an immature person myself, and you just have to recognize that,” Hughes said. “I think he’s got a good heart. I think he’s handled the trials and tribulations very well.”
***
Hughes said Kaman and Jordan didn’t excel until later in their careers.
“In our league, a lot of big guys don’t play until their third year. This is his third year; it’s a very big year for him. Year 3 and 4 are very big years for big guys,” Hughes said. “I worked with DeAndre Jordan, and he didn’t get any time until his fourth year. It takes them a little more time to progress and reach their potential, but, in my opinion, bigs are invaluable in our league and in high school and college. You win with bigs. You’ve got to have not necessarily big guys who dominate the middle, but you can’t coach size.”
The hope for Leonard is to play out his career in Portland. He loves everything about the city “except for the rain,” he said.
The fans are supportive. “I asked Terry Stotts and Kim, and they really think we have the best fans,” Leonard said. “They’re so knowledgeable.”
...
http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/...29/marcus-jackson-things-looking-leonard.html
