Leonard Stokes, 99-03
Played G for the Bearcats11/17/04: Stokes is still listed on the NBDL Asheville roster.
03/30/04: "When Leonard Stokes walked into his first basketball practice more than four years ago at the University of Cincinnati, the Buffalo, N.Y., native said he quickly learned a valuable lesson. "Coach (Bob Huggins) told me that if I wanted to get any playing time, it was going to have to come from my defense," said Stokes, a guard/forward for the Asheville Altitude. "And that was tough to hear. Coming out of high school, I didn't play any defense, just offense. And then all of a sudden, I'm on the No. 1 team in the country with guys like Kenyon Martin and Steve Logan. But I quickly understood why coach told me that. We had plenty of guys who could score; we needed guys to be role players."
Stokes became a good all-around player for the Bearcats. In addition to defense, he supplied enough offense to finish his four-year career with 1,318 points, good for 17th on the school's all-time list. Now, he's playing an important role for an Altitude team heading toward a berth in the NBDL playoffs. "Before I picked him up in the NBDL player pool, I called Huggins to see what I was getting," said Altitude coach Joey Meyer, who built a relationship with Huggins from his days as coach at DePaul. "He told me that Stokes was a very athletic kid who could play defense. So I figured, we've got plenty of guys who can score, but it might be nice to add a guy who can play some defense. And so far, he's been a nice addition."
In 11 games since joining the team in early March, Stokes, 22, is averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per contest. Knowing he's not a focal point of the offense, Stokes usually gets most of his points after grabbing offensive rebounds.
His first two points as an Altitude player came courtesy of a two-handed, putback dunk off a missed jumper by teammate Brandon Kurtz. Sixteen of his 35 rebounds have come on the offensive end of the court. "He definitely brings some excitement to the game," Meyer said.
Stokes is one of four rookies on the Altitude roster - Antonio Meeking, Desmond Penigar and Brandin Knight are the others - attempting to make a career out of basketball. Meeking, Penigar and Knight all had the advantage of participating in NBA summer camps to help get their names out. Stokes fell victim to what he called a "bad agent" and wasn't invited to a camp.
At the advice of Huggins, Stokes fired his agent in January and hired J.R. Harris, who also represents NBA stars such as Clifford Robinson and Doug Christie. Soon after hiring Harris, Stokes got into the NBDL player pool.
When the Altitude lost some players to the NBA, Stokes suddenly had a place to play. "It was tough seeing guys that I had played with in college getting opportunities that I didn't," Stokes said. "But now, I feel like I'm on the right track. I'm learning a lot here in Asheville that I plan to take with me to my next stop."
According to Stokes, his next stop will be a summer camp in Houston run by former NBA coach and player John Lucas, who teaches the fundamentals of the game. After playing both guard positions and small forward in college, Stokes believes he is only a jump shot away from the NBA. "All I need is a jumper," he said. "If I can continue to get better, while adding a consistent jumper, I don't see why I shouldn't have a shot at making it to the next level." - Asheville Citizen Times
12/19/03: "When Leonard Stokes showed up at UC's practice Thursday and found out that his former teammates were in the locker room, he was content to wait for them out on the court. "I ain't going in there," Stokes said. "I've gotten yelled at in there plenty of times."
Stokes, who completed his UC career last year after scoring 1,318 points in four years, said he expects to join the Asheville Altitude of the National Basketball Development League on Jan. 1. Stokes said he played briefly in Greece, but quit because he wasn't getting paid and also worked out with the Fayetteville NBDL team before landing with Asheville. "It's rough," he said. "After you leave here you're so used to everybody caring about you, but once you're out there, it's so much of a business." - Enquirer.com
4/16/03: Drafted by the USBL's Westchester Wildfire with the 44th overall pick. - USBL.com
4/13/03: "Leonard Stokes was named team most valuable player at the University of Cincinnati men's basketball awards banquet. The 6-6 senior forward from Buffalo, N.Y. led the Bearcats in scoring with his 15.7-point scoring average and was second on the team in rebounding (4.8) and assists (3.2)." - UC Bearcats.com
03/30/04: "When Leonard Stokes walked into his first basketball practice more than four years ago at the University of Cincinnati, the Buffalo, N.Y., native said he quickly learned a valuable lesson. "Coach (Bob Huggins) told me that if I wanted to get any playing time, it was going to have to come from my defense," said Stokes, a guard/forward for the Asheville Altitude. "And that was tough to hear. Coming out of high school, I didn't play any defense, just offense. And then all of a sudden, I'm on the No. 1 team in the country with guys like Kenyon Martin and Steve Logan. But I quickly understood why coach told me that. We had plenty of guys who could score; we needed guys to be role players."
Stokes became a good all-around player for the Bearcats. In addition to defense, he supplied enough offense to finish his four-year career with 1,318 points, good for 17th on the school's all-time list. Now, he's playing an important role for an Altitude team heading toward a berth in the NBDL playoffs. "Before I picked him up in the NBDL player pool, I called Huggins to see what I was getting," said Altitude coach Joey Meyer, who built a relationship with Huggins from his days as coach at DePaul. "He told me that Stokes was a very athletic kid who could play defense. So I figured, we've got plenty of guys who can score, but it might be nice to add a guy who can play some defense. And so far, he's been a nice addition."
In 11 games since joining the team in early March, Stokes, 22, is averaging 5.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per contest. Knowing he's not a focal point of the offense, Stokes usually gets most of his points after grabbing offensive rebounds.
His first two points as an Altitude player came courtesy of a two-handed, putback dunk off a missed jumper by teammate Brandon Kurtz. Sixteen of his 35 rebounds have come on the offensive end of the court. "He definitely brings some excitement to the game," Meyer said.
Stokes is one of four rookies on the Altitude roster - Antonio Meeking, Desmond Penigar and Brandin Knight are the others - attempting to make a career out of basketball. Meeking, Penigar and Knight all had the advantage of participating in NBA summer camps to help get their names out. Stokes fell victim to what he called a "bad agent" and wasn't invited to a camp.
At the advice of Huggins, Stokes fired his agent in January and hired J.R. Harris, who also represents NBA stars such as Clifford Robinson and Doug Christie. Soon after hiring Harris, Stokes got into the NBDL player pool.
When the Altitude lost some players to the NBA, Stokes suddenly had a place to play. "It was tough seeing guys that I had played with in college getting opportunities that I didn't," Stokes said. "But now, I feel like I'm on the right track. I'm learning a lot here in Asheville that I plan to take with me to my next stop."
According to Stokes, his next stop will be a summer camp in Houston run by former NBA coach and player John Lucas, who teaches the fundamentals of the game. After playing both guard positions and small forward in college, Stokes believes he is only a jump shot away from the NBA. "All I need is a jumper," he said. "If I can continue to get better, while adding a consistent jumper, I don't see why I shouldn't have a shot at making it to the next level." - Asheville Citizen Times
12/19/03: "When Leonard Stokes showed up at UC's practice Thursday and found out that his former teammates were in the locker room, he was content to wait for them out on the court. "I ain't going in there," Stokes said. "I've gotten yelled at in there plenty of times."
Stokes, who completed his UC career last year after scoring 1,318 points in four years, said he expects to join the Asheville Altitude of the National Basketball Development League on Jan. 1. Stokes said he played briefly in Greece, but quit because he wasn't getting paid and also worked out with the Fayetteville NBDL team before landing with Asheville. "It's rough," he said. "After you leave here you're so used to everybody caring about you, but once you're out there, it's so much of a business." - Enquirer.com
4/16/03: Drafted by the USBL's Westchester Wildfire with the 44th overall pick. - USBL.com
4/13/03: "Leonard Stokes was named team most valuable player at the University of Cincinnati men's basketball awards banquet. The 6-6 senior forward from Buffalo, N.Y. led the Bearcats in scoring with his 15.7-point scoring average and was second on the team in rebounding (4.8) and assists (3.2)." - UC Bearcats.com
