Thursday, February 10, 2000
Stokes' best move - patience
UC freshman working hard, awaiting turn
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The basket Leonard Stokes scored against Alabama-Birmingham was among 31 the Cincinnati Bearcats managed Saturday afternoon, and it might not seem important given their 13-point margin of victory.
But when the shot connected, Stokes had his first points in exactly one month.
Stokes, a 6-foot-6 freshman guard, had taken only five shots during the drought and played a combined 25 minutes in seven games for the No.1-ranked Bearcats. What makes him popular among his teammates and coaches is that those numbers did not define his contribution. Nor him.
“He's done a great job,” said coach Bob Huggins. “He's had some minutes where he's been down, and I think probably rightfully so. What we keep explaining to Leonard — and what Leonard understands maybe more than most — is that here, sulking and pouting don't get you a whole lot.
“Maybe some places you get rewarded for that. You don't get rewarded for that here. And I think he's really turned it up in practice.”
As the Bearcats (22-1, 10-0) prepare for their latest Conference USA challenge — DePaul (16-7, 6-4) Sunday at the Shoemaker Center — Stokes remains a player whose production is not essential to their operation but could become extremely valuable.
They want him to feel comfortable taking open jump shots, figuring the opposing defense might relax for an instant with Pete Mickeal or Steve Logan or DerMarr Johnson on the bench and Stokes in that guy's place.
They want him to be adept enough defensively that he can stay on the floor for extended periods.
“I don't think it's a matter of Leonard not being able to step in and make shots,” Huggins said. “I think it was some of the other things that Leonard wasn't doing, particularly at the defensive end, and I think those are things he's worked hard to correct. Leonard's been really good.”
Teammate Ryan Fletcher and his coaches encouraged Stokes to be prepared to shoot when he caught the ball in scoring position. “Coach Huggins told me he would never yell at me for taking an open shot,” Stokes said.
“I come in here every day and try to go as hard as I can in practice. When I get in a game, there's never going to be anyone who's as tough as practice — playing against Kenyon (Martin) and Pete and those guys. There'll never be a situation where I'm in a game and I see someone on the other team who's better than those two.”
When he arrived at UC in the fall, Stokes' primary goal was to prove he belonged at this level, in this program. He was the least well-known of UC's recruits, even though he was Mr.Basketball in New York. He led his high school team in Buffalo to a state title but had not caught the attention of recruiting analysts.
Stokes believes he has shown he can play for the Bearcats, and Huggins backs that up. “Leonard does more things, I think, than anybody else on our team. He handles it, passes it. We play him at the point, at off-guard, at small forward. We don't have anybody else who can do all those things.”
Logan and fellow freshman Kenny Satterfield handle the point; Logan and Johnson play shooting guard; and Johnson and Mickeal are the small forwards. Stokes' minutes come primarily when one or more of those players is in foul trouble, or when Huggins perceives the need for a drastic change.
With UC on a 14-game winning streak, that hasn't happened often.
“I just tell him the things they told me my freshman year when I wasn't playing: Just come here every day and just work, and good things will happen,” Martin said. “He listens. That's the main thing. He listens to what Coach and myself have to say.”
Martin's advice resonated, given that he averaged only 10.6 minutes and 2.8 points his first season.
“I'm a freshman. I've got three more years,” Stokes said. “Kenyon talks to me about how he didn't play much when he was young, and he's doing pretty good now I would say.”
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