CALIFORNIA DREAMS

Our area’s basketball lion now has California dreams.

Houma native and Blinn College sophomore guard Lionheart Leslie announced this week that he will sign a National Letter of Intent with California State-Fullerton to finish his collegiate career.

The Titans are a Division I program that competes in the Big West Conference against programs such as UC-Irvine, UC-Davis, Long Beach State, Cal Poly and Hawaii.

Leslie will have two years of eligibility to play for the program, which is looking to rebuild after finishing 9-22 a year ago.

He’s excited and grateful for the opportunity

Leslie chose Fullerton over offers from several schools around the country, including Indiana State, Lamar, New Orleans and Eastern Illinois.

“It’s a blessing, really to be able to say that I am going to finish my playing career at California State-Fullerton,” he said. “I made a visit there and the coaches and players just made me feel right at home. I’m so excited to get there, and I’m so excited to get started. We have two years left to try and help get our team to the NCAA Tournament.”

For Leslie, the ascent to the highest level of competition in college basketball comes after a highly decorated and successful two-year stint with Blinn.

The 5-foot, 11-inch point guard was a force for the Buccaneers over the past two seasons, helping spark resurgence in the Texas-based junior college program.

In Leslie’s first season, Blinn finished 18-14, but struggled to win close games against conference opposition.

The Vandebilt Catholic High School graduate started 21 of the 30 games he played as a true freshman in that 2013-14 season and was an immediate impact player.

He averaged 9.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. By the end of the season, he had solidified himself as one of the top offensive threats on the team.

That success is no surprise to folks locally who’d seen Leslie dominate on the hardwood for the Terriers throughout his prep career. For three-straight seasons at Vandebilt, Leslie averaged more than 20 points per game, earning himself the distinction as one of the top high school players in

Louisiana by the time of his graduation.

“Lionheart really gives you everything that he has on the floor,” Blinn College head coach Scott Schumacher said. “He’s so talented and does things with the ball that are wise beyond his years. He was a great player for us, and we’re certainly going to be leaving a big hole in our lineup trying to replace his offense, defense and leadership.”

In the second season of Leslie’s college career, both he and his team really started to blossom. In the 2014-15 season, Blinn took a giant leap forward and became one of the top JUCO programs in Texas with a 23-9 record.

Leslie was one of the biggest reasons for that surge.

The Houma native started all 32 of the Bucs’ games and was unquestionably the team’s best and most efficient offensive player this season.

Leslie averaged a team-high 14.7 points per game, while shooting a whopping 59.1 percent from the field and 51.4 percent from behind the 3-point line.

With the ball in his hands for most of the game, Leslie also was able to get his teammates involved. He averaged 5.1 rebounds and a team-high 5.7 assists per game. Leslie also led his team with 2.7 steals per contest – collective efforts that pushed the Bucs to the second round of their conference tournament.

“In my second year, I just felt more comfortable,” Leslie said. “The game slowed down and I think that things just went so much better for both me and the team. I know what I’m capable of doing, and I know that that’s the way that I should be competing and playing for my teammates and coaches.”

That’s momentum that Leslie will now be focused on taking to California with the Titans – a program that is struggling to become more competitive.

Dedrique Taylor – a veteran coach who spent his first season with the team last year, coaches Fullerton.

Taylor is a former assistant coach for Arizona State and is the man responsible for recruiting several top-tier prospects to that program, including NBA superstar James Harden.

The Titans won just nine games this past season, but were close in many more, often falling in the final minutes of play.

With six seniors gone off their roster, Leslie said he expects to have the opportunity to compete for playing time right away.

Potential playing time plus the chance to live in a place he described as “paradise” are two of the biggest reasons for his excitement.

Fullerton, California, is in the southern portion of the state – just about an hour away from Los Angeles.

The high temperatures in Fullerton rarely exceed the 70s. A “hot” day there is a day in the low 80s.

“It’s beautiful, man,”

Leslie said. “When I took my visit, I was just amazed at everything that was out there. I think that was one of the biggest things that I liked – it was a place that’s going to be awesome to live. When you combine that with the coaches and the players and how welcoming they were, it was just hard to beat.”

Leslie said over the summer he plans to add upper-body strength and other fitness drills that he believes will give him the competitive edge.

The local point guard said his ultimate dream is to be the second player in his family to ascend to the professional level. Leslie’s older sister, Sumar, has been competing at the pro level since 2012. She is expected to sign another contract later this summer.

“That’s inspiration, you know?” Lionheart said. “We push one another. We always have. That’s my dream. I want to get to that level. I believe in myself and I know what I’m capable of doing. I know I can do it and I know I can get there. We’re family. We push ourselves every step of the way.

“She is a big source of inspiration that will get me there. And Cal State-Fullerton is the next stop in my journey.”

‘I’m so excited to get there, and I’m so excited to get started. We have two years left to try and help get our team to the NCAA Tournament.’

Lionheart Leslie

Houma native and new Cal-State Fullerton commitment

Houma native and Vandebilt Catholic signee Lionheart Leslie poses with his new team attire – shirts and shorts representing California State-Fullerton. Leslie committed to CSF this past week and will sign a National Letter of Intent in the coming days. With the Titans, Leslie will have two years of eligibility. He hopes to make an immediate impact and help rebuild the program that had a losing season in 2014-15.

COURTESY PHOTO

Houma native Lionheart Leslie’s expiosiveness was a huge factor in his commitment to California State-Fullerton, where he will play for 2 seasons.

COURTESY PHOTO