2024-25 IU basketball player profile: Anthony Leal
With the start of college basketball season approaching, we’ve moved from our look at other Big Ten programs to our player-by-player previews of the 2024-25 Indiana roster.
Today, our player profiles conclude with fifth-year senior Anthony Leal.
Previously: Bryson Tucker, Jakai Newton, Myles Rice, Mackenzie Mgbako, Gabe Cupps, Kanaan Carlyle, Malik Reneau, Oumar Ballo, Dallas James, Langdon Hatton, Luke Goode, Trey Galloway
Indiana’s 2020 Mr. Basketball, Anthony Leal enters his fifth and final season this winter in Bloomington.
The Bloomington South product has been on the fringe of the rotation for most of his career but finally logged increased minutes during the 2023-24 season.
As the Hoosiers dealt with an injury to Xavier Johnson and inconsistent play from CJ Gunn, who was expected to be a major contributor last season, Leal’s number was finally called regularly.
After not playing in three straight games against Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin in January, Leal appeared in each of the team’s final 14 games.
He was instrumental in IU’s 74-68 win against Iowa on Jan. 30 at Assembly Hall. Leal came off the bench and scored a career-high 13 points, including a 3-for-4 performance on 3-pointers.
Leal didn’t reach double figures the rest of the season but still had several key moments that contributed to winning. In IU’s thrilling 76-73 comeback win at Ohio State on Feb. 6, Leal hit the game-winning 3-pointer from the right corner. It was his only 3-point attempt of the night.
With his close friend Trey Galloway sidelined in the Big Ten tournament, Leal played 23 minutes against Penn State at the Target Center in Minneapolis. He scored eight points and had the game-winning tip-in to lift the Hoosiers past the Nittany Lions, 61-59.
Leal finished the season averaging 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.7 minutes per game. He shot 47.4 percent on 3s, although he attempted just 19 shots from the perimeter.
Defensively, Leal was one of IU’s best communicators on the floor. He sometimes struggled to keep quick guards in front of him but was always diving on the floor for loose balls and hustle was never a question.
“He knows so much and helps our program. He’s huge for the younger guys. He sets a great example because he’s always at practice, always just ready to go,” Trey Galloway said at Big Ten media day in 2023. “Having a guy like that is special on your team. At the end of the day when it comes to winning, he’s gonna be one of the guys that impacts it.”
Near the end of last season, Leal announced he would return for a fifth season at IU, which drew a rousing applause from the IU faithful following a 65-64 win against Michigan State in Bloomington.
Now a fifth-year senior on an IU roster that added plenty of guard talent from the portal, Leal’s role may shift again in his final season. He’ll be one of IU’s vocal leaders in the locker room and practice, but his minutes will likely fall from the 14.7 he averaged last season.
The Hoosiers brought in Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle from the transfer portal. The program also returns Trey Galloway, Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton. All five players could be ahead of Leal in the battle for minutes.
Bottom line: Leal is one the final holdovers from the Archie Miller era and has been a fan favorite at IU despite playing limited minutes the last four seasons. He’s a Hoosier through and through, loves the program and the university and embraces each day he’s a part of the program. While he’s not expected to have a major role this season, Leal will be ready if and when the coaching staff calls his number.
Quotable: “Where I come from in the NBA, you call that a true pro. And Anthony is the ultimate teammate, man, in terms of just hanging in there with me. And I’ve coached him and he’s come to practice every day and has done what’s asked of him and never complained, not once. He’s been a true, true teammate. And guys like that, it’s easy to coach. It’s easy to throw them in the game and feel good about it because you know what you’re going to get based on how he performs in practice. And he’s earned the right to play, and that’s why I’m playing him.” – Mike Woodson on Leal following IU’s win against Iowa last season.
Media day interview with Leal:
Filed to: 2024-25 season preview, Anthony Leal