Spiece Friday: Anthony Leal sees two schools emerge
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The opening night of the Spiece Run-n-Slam in Fort Wayne, Ind., brought a sturdy performance out of a sophomore guard who remains under the radar this spring. Anthony Leal, a 6-foot-3 scoring guard out of Bloomington, Ind., displayed a tremendously polished skillset, and two programs have caught his eye early on.
Capable of being used at either guard spot in the backcourt, Leal discussed his spring thus far.
“Things have been productive. We haven’t lost, which is always good, and we are getting better with having new guys. So it is going well,” he said before assessing his primary strengths. “I call myself a scorer, not just a shooter, but I prefer a scorer because it is not just catch and shoot but I can get to the rim, pull up, get fouled, and also get my teammates involved and do whatever I have to do to win.”
It's a little perplexing that no one has offered just yet. Indiana and Xavier are the two programs that have shown the most interest in Leal, he told Rivals.com.
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IN HIS OWN WORDS
Indiana: “I have grown up there and just watching how Archie (Miller) is coaching and how they play against other good teams. Plus, the history of Indiana. That is just awesome to me. Just growing up, I am a Hoosier and I have loved them.
“To get that offer, they just want to see progression, growing, getting stronger, better ballhandling and just improving.”
Xavier: “He (Travis Steele) came down to my high school the first day of recruiting and watched me work out, just telling me that they like what they see and want to keep seeing me progress.
“Having him there was awesome. It just showed how much I mean to them and it really helped a lot.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Completing his junior travel ball season with the Indiana Elite 16-under bunch this summer, Leal discussed where he has been in the past, though he doesn't have any visits scheduled yet. “I have been to a couple of Indiana games and I went to the Xavier game last year whenever they played Cincinnati,” he said.
RIVALS' REACTION
A strong, smart and skilled guard who can make shots, create for others and rebound the ball, Leal is as fundamentally sound as one is going to find in a high school sophomore.
While no offers have been received just yet, it does look as if Xavier and Indiana will continue to monitor and if an offer does come from one or the other, the Musketeers or Hoosiers would immediately become the program to beat.