Indiana basketball approaches less than 30 days until the tip-off of the 2022-23 season and now we reveal which all-time great Hoosiers fall in the 20’s of our Top 40 countdown. Since September 28, we have counted down to the beginning of the exciting 2022-23 season and revealed names like Eric Gordon, Trayce Jackson-Davis and other all-time greats in the 30 through 40 range.
Top 40 Indiana basketball players of all-time
Indiana basketball career stats: 15.5 PPG, 6.1 FGM, 18.4 FGA, 71 GP
Bobby “Slick” Leonard is one of the first Indiana basketball players in program history to be honored as All-Americans in consecutive seasons, which he did alongside his teammate, Don Schlundt. Leonard was named to the All-Big Ten first team in 1952-53 and 1953-54, along with being named to the 1953 NCAA All-Tournament team for helping lead his program to their second national title.
In the 1953 NCAA Tournament, Leonard averaged 16.7 points per game in the four games it took for the Hoosiers to win its second national title in school history. Leonard, once again, was in the shadows of Schlundt, who averaged 30.7 points in the 1953 NCAA Tournament.
“Slick” was the second player in Indiana basketball history to reach 1,000 points and now sits 47th on the all-time scoring list in school history with 1,098 total points scored in just three seasons. Leonard was then drafted 10th overall in the 1954 NBA Draft, but did not play his first game in the NBA until 1956 due to serving in the U.S. Military. His best season in the NBA came with the Chicago Packers, where Slick averaged 16.1 points and 5.4 assists in 1961-62.
After his playing career, Leonard went on to coach multiple ABA and NBA teams, along with serving as the voice of the Indiana Pacers for many seasons before passing away on April 13, 2021.