Bobby ‘Slick’ Leonard, 88, Pacers Hall of Fame coach, is dead
INDIANAPOLIS — Bobby “Slick” Leonard was selected as the ABA’s greatest coach. Hall of Fame player George McGinnis considered him a genius.
On Tuesday, the Indiana Pacers announced that the man who led them to three ABA championships during a Hall of Fame coaching career and was selected a 1963 NBA All-Star had died. No details about the 88-year-old Leonard were provided but he had been in failing health in recent years.
“He was the greatest,” McGinnis said in March. “He loved all of his guys and, yes, he had his days. If you got on the wrong side of him, it wasn’t going to be a good deal for you.”
But, McGinnis added, there was a big difference between Leonard and Indiana Hoosiers coach Bob Knight: After Leonard ripped into you and “wore you out, he’d take you out for a beer and say ‘You know I love you, I’m doing this for your own good.’”
Leonard became one of the crown princes of Indiana basketball.
Yes, he went 573-534 in 14 seasons as a coach, winning 529 in 12 seasons with the Pacers.
But the legacy went far deeper. The star tennis player at Terre Haute Gerstmeyer High School chose to play basketball at nearby Indiana University. He wound up leading the Hoosiers to two Big Ten titles, was a two-time All-American and made the winning free throws to give Indiana the 1953 national championship.
Decades later, he was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in school history and was part of the Hoosiers’ all-century team.
“He has meant as much as anyone in the state of Indiana when it comes to the game of basketball,” new Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. “He played the game with great flair. He coached with undeniable passion.
“His smile put everyone at ease. The man was a champion through and through whether it was with the Pacers organization or at Indiana University. Without question, he was a Hall of Fame human being.”
After serving in the US Army in the mid-1950s, Leonard played professionally for seven years with the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers and was named an NBA All-Star in 1963.