Known for his notable height of 6 feet and 7 inches, Scott Leonard towers over most of his classmates walking through the halls. Leonard is a star basketball player who fell in love with the sport around the time he was in sixth grade. He played as a fifth-grader but didn’t play much, spending most of his time on the bench. “My competitive side came out and I got mad, so I worked super hard that next summer and eventually played as a starter my sixth-grade year,” Leonard said.

By playing college basketball, Leonard will be following in the footsteps of his father, mother and older sister, Catherine. Leonard committed to Buena Vista University. Basketball has always been his dad’s favorite sport and his dad has had an enormous impact on his life. “He’s the one who pushed me to go out and try new things and to work super hard and be a good student and that has helped me through everything,” Leonard said.

After high school, Leonard plans to major in history with an emphasis on education. He chose history because he thinks it’s very interesting and he has had great teachers throughout his high school years.

Leonard’s love of basketball has taken him as far as New York City when he went to a basketball tournament for his club team, Kingdom Hoops. Leonard said he had always wanted to go to New York and it was a very good experience. “It’s a cool city and I got to see a lot of new buildings,” Leonard said. That was the farthest he’s ever traveled for basketball.

A favorite school memory of Leonard’s is playing Glenwood in the 2017 substate basketball game and coming out on top to advance to the State tournament for the first time in 15 or 16 years. “It was an incredible game and a crazy atmosphere. Everything about the game was awesome,” Leonard said.