Indiana Basketball Returner Focus: Senior Wing Anthony Leal

The Indiana basketball program is going to look a whole lot different with many new faces coming in this season however, they will bring back a very strong returning core from a season ago.

While there are many new faces to the program, the Hoosiers will return six players with the experience to help lead the new group.

While we will be looking at every player for the upcoming 2024-25 Indiana basketball season, we are going to kick things off with our Indiana basketball Returner Focus series looking at all the returning stars for the Hoosiers.

For today, we take a look at senior guard Anthony Leal and look back at last year plus his role for the 2024-2025 Indiana basketball season.

Other Players in the Series: Trey Galloway

Watch: Talkin’ Bout the Hoosiers: 2023-24 Indiana basketball Player Recaps – Trey Galloway & Anthony Leal

Last Season Reflection

The 2023-24 Indiana basketball season was one of the more bland years that most of Hoosier Nation can remember in a long time. After being subpar in a weak Big Ten conference and failing to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Mike Woodson’s tenure as head coach of Indiana, there were very few bright spots that came out of last year.

However, in those few bright spots that you can takeaway from last season, arguably the brightest of them all was the emergence of senior guard Anthony Leal.

Leal has always been one of the ‘fan favorites’ of this Indiana basketball team in the near five years he has been a part of the program. The Bloomington native has not seen much of the playing time that I am sure he has wanted over the years while playing for Indiana basketball but has always been a great advocate for the program.

He’s been a player that has always been ready to go when his name is called and last year, he finally got his chance to be a key part of the Indiana basketball rotation.

When Xavier Johnson went down last season with more injuries, the depth chart of the backcourt of Indiana basketball shrunk even more than what it already was at. When the season started, there were high hopes that CJ Gunn would be one of the breakout players in the backcourt of Indiana basketball and would be a key contributor alongside Johnson, Trey Galloway, and Gabe Cupps. With the inconsistency of Gunn as the season progressed, Woodson opted to give his senior guard Anthony Leal a shot and for the most part, it proved to be the right decision.

In 21 total game appearances, Leal averaged a career-best in nearly every category including 14.7 minutes per game. While he was not a high volume scorer for the Hoosiers, he did average a career-best 2.4 points per game on 16-of-36 shooting (44.4%) totaling 51 points on the season.

There were many performances for Leal that helped Indiana basketball get a few more wins than what they were projected to get. For starters, he scored a career-high 13 points in Indiana’s win at home vs Iowa in the heart of Big Ten play also adding three threes and seven rebounds. Then there was the game winning corner-three in Indiana’s 18-point comeback road win at Ohio State off a Trey Galloway drive and kick-out for Leal to seal the game.

“That’s a big time shot,” Trey Galloway said postgame of the Ohio State game about his long time teammate. “I feel so comfortable playing with him, ever since freshman year of high school. I trust him and he trusts me… I want him to shoot that 10 times out of 10.”

Then of course, there is the last second shot under the basket vs Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament to extend the season of the Hoosiers.

“I know with the shot clock running down and everything that we’re going to get a chance to get a shot, but the odds of that shot going in aren’t always high,” Leal said about the final play. “The odds of losing on a tip-in or a rebound is something we talk about a lot on defense. If there’s a buzzer beater, we’ve got to be boxing out.

Leal put on many memorable moments for the Hoosiers last season while also proving that he can be a player that can produce when his name is called on. He showed that he knew what Mike Woodson wants on the floor, being a leader and communicator on both ends. He was one of the most trusted players on the floor for Indiana basketball many times last season.

Leal, along with Trey Galloway, announced that he would be returning to Indiana and would use his COVID year for the 2024-25 season, which was a big win for Mike Woodson as he started to get a solid core of returners in building this upcoming year’s team.

When things looked like they were about to implode, Leal was the voice of reason while also continuing to be a fan favorite.

“We’re gonna run it back,” Leal said during his senior speech. “But you guys (fans) gotta chill.”

Role for 2023-24 Season

Syndication: The Herald-Times

One of the bigger question marks of this Indiana basketball is what exactly the role of Anthony Leal is going to be this upcoming season. Leal, for most of his Indiana basketball career, was a player that hardly ever saw time off the bench unless needed to, certainly made a strong case for more of a prominent role for the 2024-25 season.

Indiana basketball made major improvements this offseason at multiple positions. If we are being completely honest with ourselves, if things had worked out a little bit differently with Xavier Johnson being healthy and CJ Gunn finding more consistency as a shotmaker, Leal likely would have found himself in the similar role as he has the past few season under Mike Woodson.

With the additions of players like Myles Rice, Kanaan Carlyle, Luke Goode and the returns of Mackenzie Mgbako, Trey Galloway, Gabe Cupps, and Jakai Newton, it is really heard to see just exactly where Leal will fall into the rotation. However, even with the additions plus the returns, Anthony Leal has developed trust in Mike Woodson, which could be a strong reason as to why he finds himself a consistent role next season.

The advantage that Leal has over most of the players mentioned above is his experience both as a player and being in Mike Woodson’s system over the past four seasons. When Leal was on the floor, it was extremely obvious that he was one of the more vocal players on the floor, especially when it came to the defensive end directing players on where they needed to be a lot of the times. It is well-known that Mike Woodson is a defensive-minded coach and in order to see playing time in his Indiana basketball program, you have to be a willing, and smart defender. Leal is not the best defender from a physical and talent standpoint, but he knows the nail, slot, and rim defensive scheme.

Where Leal could possibly increase his chances at building a stronger role is shotmaking. Mike Woodson and the Indiana basketball staff did a good job in bringing in guys that have the potential to improve Indiana’s ability to make shots in the perimeter, but Leal is also a player that could help in that area. While the volume in which he shot last season was not high at all (9-of-19 3FG), he did manage to make 47.4% of the threes he took. It is a great sign of consistency with potential for him to shoot near that same percentage if his volume increases.

Nobody expects Leal to be a playmaker on the floor, but if he can become a legit catch-and-shoot threat, he adds another weapon the loaded arsenal of Indiana basketball. He will always be a leader when the floor, however

No matter what role Anthony Leal plays next season, one thing we know is 100% true, the fifth-year senior guard is going to be more than ready when his name is called on. If Anthony Leal is your 11th or 12th more on your roster, your program is in really good hands no matter what situations come about during the season.

Notable Quotes

“Coming from the NBA, in the 34 years I spent there, we call that a pro, a true pro,” Woodson said of Leal’s readiness last season. “He has hung in there with me because he hadn’t played a whole lot, but in practice he comes to work every day, and he knows everything that we’re doing on both sides of the ball.

“So from a coaching standpoint, we feel comfortable knowing, if we throw him in there, he’s not going to embarrass us, himself or our team,” Woodson said last season. “He’s come in and given us a helluva lift, and tonight he hits the biggest shot of his college career, the putback. So that’s beautiful for him, I think, in terms of the hard work that he’s put in. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

“I haven’t played as much as I’ve wanted in my career, but the times where I’m not playing, I’m still learning and studying the game and figuring out ways to win if I do get in,” Leal said postgame on the Big Ten Network. “Now that I’m starting to get my chance, and it’s next guy up with Trey (Galloway) being out tonight, I just try to do what I’ve always done and that’s just help win.”

SEE ALSO: One question facing all 12 Indiana basketball players entering the summer

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