Awards

School of Public Health W.W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award - 2016

Z.G. Clevenger Award - 2015

About Bobby Leonard

Bobby "Slick" Leonard's rise to basketball immortality began with his High School career in Terre Haute, IN where he was awarded to the All-State Basketball team and was the Indiana State Tennis Singles Champion. He would later be inducted into the Indiana High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

He then attended Indiana University under the tutelage of Coach Branch McCracken from 1950 to 1954. He dominated the matchups between their rivals Purdue where his team never lost a game against the Boilermakers, earning him the McCracken basketball award. Through his leadership and sensational play, Bobby earned All-American honors in 1953 and 1954, with an honorable mention in 1952. He reigned as captain for his final two seasons, leading the Hoosiers to back-to-back Big Ten Championships and a National Championship in 1953.

After graduation, he was drafted with the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft to the Baltimore Bullets. He played in the league for a variety of teams including the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Zephyrs until 1963. In 1968 he took the job of Head Coach for the Indiana Pacers, and led to team to supremacy, winning 3 American Basketball Association (ABA) championships in 1970, '72, and '73. He then retired from coaching in 1980, after earning the award of ABA All-Time Coach.

Bobby is currently the Indiana Pacers Radio announcer, and has been since 1986. He has recently been elected into the NCAA Naismith College Basketball Hall of Fame, the Indiana Sportscasters Hall of Fame and was an inaugural member of the IU Sports Hall of Fame.