Maarten Arthur "Maarty" Leunen (born September 3, 1985) is a former American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. A

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

formerly at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, he averaged 9.9 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in his college career.

High school

Prior to arriving at the University of Oregon, Leunen starred at Redmond High School in

Redmond, Oregon Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert in Central Oregon. From Redmond there is access to recreational opportuni ...

. Leunen led Redmond to the state championship in 2003, where they beat Hillsboro High School 50-47 at Portland's Memorial Coliseum. In 2004, he led Redmond to the state championship game but the team fell short, losing to

South Salem High School South Salem High School is a public high school in Salem, Oregon. It was built in 1954 as the second public high school in the city. After South Salem opened, the former Salem High School was renamed North Salem High School. History South Salem ...

54-43 at Eugene's

McArthur Court McArthur Court is a basketball arena located on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene and the former home of the Oregon Ducks men's and women's basketball teams, replaced in 2011 by Matthew Knight Arena. Also known as "The Pit" or " ...

. Leunen was named Gatorade state player of the year in 2004. Rated as the 14th best

prospect by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

, Leunen chose the University of Oregon over offers from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

and

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the ...

as well as many others.

College career

After solid contributions as a true freshman and sophomore for the Ducks, Leunen became one of the most important pieces to Oregon's 2006–2007 campaign. In the Ducks' four-guard offense, Leunen often found himself matched up against bigger, taller opponents. His post defense, rebounding and offensive versatility (namely his ability to shoot the three and run the floor) created problems for opponents all season long. Leunen's junior season performance garnered him All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention status.

Professional career

Europe

After being drafted by the Houston Rockets, Leunen signed with the Turkish League team Darüşşafaka, which is associated with the big Turkish club Efes Pilsen in the summer of 2008. In July 2009, he joined the Italian League club

Pallacanestro Cantù Pallacanestro Cantù, known for sponsorship reasons as Acqua S.Bernardo Cantù, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Cantù, Lombardy. On the European-wide club competition scene, Cantù is second to Real Madrid – again ...

. In July 2014, he signed a one-year deal with the German club

ratiopharm Ulm Ratiopharm Ulm, officially stylized as ratiopharm Ulm, is a professional basketball club based in Ulm, Germany. The club has two teams, one professional team, which plays in the Basketball Bundesliga, the major German professional league and one ...

. On September 11, 2015, Leunen signed with Sidigas Avellino of the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

. Leunen signed with

Fortitudo Bologna Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna 103, commonly known as Fortitudo Bologna and currently known as Fortitudo Kiğılı Bologna for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball club based in Bologna, Italy and currently plays in the second division. Histor ...

in 2018. On July 15, 2020, he signed with

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club basketball league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball Federation (FIP). It is the highest-tier ...

(LBA). On October 27, 2021, Leunen announced his retirement from professional basketball.

NBA

Leunen was drafted with the 54th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets but didn't sign with them. A year later, he was invited to play for the Rockets' summer squad in the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League. On January 22, 2016, Leunen's draft rights were traded to the

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

in exchange for

Josh Smith Joshua Smith (born December 5, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlant ...

, the draft rights to Serhiy Lishchuk and cash considerations. On July 23, 2018, Leunen's draft rights were traded to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for

Johnathan Motley Johnathan Landus Motley (born May 4, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for KK Partizan of the Aba League and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Baylor Bears, where he was a consensus second-team All-American ...

and the draft rights to Renaldas Seibutis. On August 1, 2018, Leunen's draft rights were traded back to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chinanu Onuaku with the 2020 second-round pick and cash considerations. On February 7, 2019, Leunen's draft rights, along with

Nik Stauskas Nikolas Tomas Stauskas (born October 7, 1993) is a Canadian professional basketball player who last played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard, Stauskas played two seasons of college basketball f ...

and

Wade Baldwin IV Wade Manson Baldwin IV (born March 29, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the EuroLeague. High school and college career Born in the Belle Mead section of Mon ...

, were traded to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for cash considerations.

Awards and accomplishments

*All- Pac-10 Honorable Mention 2007

Personal life

Leunen is married to Caitlin O'Neill, and they have three sons and one daughter. Leunen holds a youth basketball camp in his old hometown of Redmond, Oregon annually. Leunen is also an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater Redmond High School

References

External links

DraftExpress.com profileBasketpedya.com profileOregon Ducks bioScout profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leunen, Maarty 1985 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players American people of Dutch descent Basketball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Basketball players from Oregon Basketball players from Washington (state) Darüşşafaka Basketbol players Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna players Houston Rockets draft picks Lega Basket Serie A players Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Pallacanestro Cantù players Pan American Games competitors for the United States People from Redmond, Oregon Power forwards (basketball) Ratiopharm Ulm players Small forwards Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington S.S. Felice Scandone players