William Robert "Slick" Leonard (July 17, 1932April 13, 2021) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player, coach and

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

, where he was a two-time All-American and a member of their

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

squad in 1953. After playing professionally in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), Leonard coached the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

to three

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

(ABA) championships. He was inducted into the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

as a coach in 2014.

Early life

Leonard was born in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a ...

, on July 17, 1932. He attended Gerstmeyer High School. There, he played high school basketball as a , guard, and also excelled as a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. He went on to play collegiate basketball at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

, where he hit the game winning

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

to give the Hoosiers the 1953 NCAA championship. While at Indiana, he became a member of

Delta Tau Delta Delta Tau Delta () is a United States-based international Greek letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, (now West Virginia) in 1858. The fraternity currently has around 130 collegiate chapters ...

International

Fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

. He was named a third-team All-American in 1953 and selected to the second team the following season.

Professional career

Playing career

Leonard was selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the first pick of the second round (tenth overall) of the

1954 NBA draft The 1954 NBA draft was the eighth annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24, 1954, before the 1954–55 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball pla ...

. He spent most of his seven-year professional playing career with the

Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

(four years in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, and one year following the team's move to Los Angeles), followed by two years with the Chicago Packers/Zephyrs). He led the NBA in games played (72) in 1956–57. His best season came in 1961–62, in which he finished sixth in the NBA in

assists per game In basketball, an assist is attributed to a player who passes the ball to a teammate in a way that leads directly to a score by field goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the basket. An assist is also credited when a basket is awarded due ...

(5.4) and eighth in assists (378). In his final season as a player, he also coached the Zephyrs. The team moved to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

the following year; Leonard coached them for one more year.

Coaching career with the Pacers

Five years after coaching the Bullets, Leonard became the coach of the ABA's

, a position he held for nearly 12 years – the last four after the franchise moved to the NBA. For a time, he also served as general manager. Leonard led the Pacers to three

ABA championships The England Boxing National Amateur Championships previously known as the ABA Championships is the premier boxing tournament hosted annually by England Boxing. The Championships are 'open' class: any Boxing, boxer who is registered with a club r ...

before the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

in June 1976. However, the Pacers were nearly gutted in order to meet the financial burdens imposed by the merger, and he was never able to put together a winning team during the Pacers' first four years as an NBA team.

Color commentary

Leonard returned to the Pacers in 1985 as a

, first for television with Jerry Baker, then on radio with Mark Boyle on

WFNI WFNI (1070 AM) is a commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by locally based Emmis Communications and carries a sports radio format, featuring ESPN Radio programming. The studios and offices are located at 40 Monument ...

1070 AM. His trademark phrase is "Boom, baby!" for a successful

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or trey) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two poi ...

by a Pacers player. According to an interview Leonard gave to Carmel Monthly magazine,“BOOM BABY” was hatched when Leonard was coaching the Pacers in the seventh game of the semi-finals of the 1975 American Basketball Association (ABA) playoffs. Denver held a 2-point lead with seconds left, and the Pacers got the ball to George McGinnis in the low post for a potential tying basket. But McGinnis kicked the ball out to a wide-open Billy Keller in the far corner. Game, set, Boom Baby. “Billy drilled it, and I shouted “BOOM BABY,” Leonard recalled.

Later life

Leonard suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

on March 13, 2011, shortly after a Pacers' road victory over the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. He was later said to be in good condition, but was given an indefinite time to recover, and was filled in for by Pacers TV analyst and former player

Austin Croshere Austin Nathan Croshere (born May 1, 1975) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs throughout his 12-year career in the N ...

. Leonard was inducted into the

as a coach in 2014. He became the first individual to be inducted into the Indiana University Sports Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

and Indiana Sports Writers and Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Leonard sustained three falls in 2018. The first in January shattered his left hip, while the second in June resulted in a broken left wrist. After his third fall in late December, he took a hiatus from calling games, before coming back on February 28, 2019. He died on April 13, 2021, at the age of 88.

Head coaching record

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References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Slick Leonard (as coach)

Indiana Pacers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Bobby 1932 births 2021 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Baltimore Bullets (1944–1954) draft picks Baltimore Bullets (1963–1973) head coaches Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Chicago Packers expansion draft picks Chicago Packers players Chicago Zephyrs head coaches Chicago Zephyrs players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Indiana Pacers announcers Indiana Pacers head coaches Los Angeles Lakers players Minneapolis Lakers players Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Player-coaches Point guards Sportspeople from Terre Haute, Indiana