T. J. Leaf

T. J. Leaf

No. 22 – UCLA Bruins
Position Power forward
League Pac-12 Conference
Personal information
Born (1997-04-30) April 30, 1997
Tel Aviv, Israel
Nationality American / Israeli
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school Foothills Christian (El Cajon, California)
College UCLA (2016–present)
Career highlights and awards

Ty Jacob "T. J." Leaf (born April 30, 1997)[1] is an American–Israeli college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. As a high school senior in 2016, he earned All-American honors. Leaf committed to play for UCLA beginning in 2016–17. He played for Israel at the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in 2015.

Early life

Leaf was born in Tel Aviv to Karen and Brad Leaf.[1] His father was playing professional basketball in Israel at the time,[2] and he enjoyed a 17-year career in the country.[3] Leaf lived his first  2 1⁄2 years in Tel Aviv before growing up in Lakeside, California, in San Diego County.[1]

He attended Foothills Christian High School in El Cajon, California, where he played under his father.[4] As a junior, Leaf averaged 27.4 points, 14.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.7 blocks per game, leading Foothills Christian to the San Diego Section Division II championship.[5] Cal-Hi Sports named him their Division II State Player of the Year.[6]

In his senior year, Leaf led the team to a No. 3 state ranking after averaging 28.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. He scored a season-high 44 points in a loss to Chino Hills, who were led by Lonzo Ball.[7] Leaf earned McDonald's and Ballislife All-American honors, and USA Today named him second-team All-USA.[8][9] He was a runner-up to Ball for California Mr. Basketball.[10] Leaf finished his high school career second all-time in the San Diego Section in both points (3,022) and rebounds (1,476). He trailed only his brother, Troy, in points (3,318 for Foothills Christian from 2007 to 2010) and Angelo Chol in rebounds (1,732 with Hoover from 2008 to 2011).[11][12]

College career

Leaf originally committed in 2014 to play for Arizona under coach Sean Miller.[13] He tried out for the United States under-19 national team, also coached by Miller, but was cut in training camp in June 2015.[14] In August, Leaf decommitted from Arizona, leading to speculation that the cut by Miller was a motivating factor.[15] He signed with UCLA three months later, choosing them over Oregon and San Diego State.[5][15] A consensus five-star and overall top-20 recruit,[16][17] he joined his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) teammates from the Compton Magic, Ike Anigbogu and Kobe Paras, who also committed to UCLA.[18] The Bruins recruiting class also included Ball, who along with Leaf were both expected to lead a UCLA turnaround in 2016–17 after the Bruins finished just 15–17 the year before.[19]

National team career

After being cut by Miller from the U.S. U19 team in 2015, Leaf joined Israel the following month in July to play in the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Austria.[3][14] Although Israel lost 73–72 in the Division B final, Leaf was named tournament MVP after averaging 16.1 points on 55 percent shooting along with 8.4 rebounds in nine games.[14][20]

Accomplishments and awards

Personal Life

TJ's mother and most of his family live in Evansville, Indiana. TJs father, Brad, was raised in Indianapolis and played collegiality at Evansville University. After playing professionally in Israel, TJ's father decided to reside in southern California. [24]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "T. J. Leaf". USAB.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  2. ↑ Zeigler, Mark (November 10, 2015). "Decision day looms for Foothills' T.J. Leaf". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Goodman, Jeff (July 8, 2015). "Arizona commit T.J. Leaf to play for Israeli national team". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  4. ↑ Brand, Steve (February 4, 2014). "Family ties extend to basketball court". The San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Nemec, Andrew (November 9, 2015). "T.J. Leaf, 5-star PF, set to announce decision Thursday on ESPNU; Oregon Ducks in final 3". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  6. ↑ Tennis, Mark (May 1, 2015). "All-State Boys BB: By Divisions". CalHiSports.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016.
  7. ↑ Tennis, Mark (March 30, 2016). "State Player of Year Finalists". CalHiSports.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  8. ↑ Maffei, John (April 1, 2016). "Leaf sparks West in McDonald's game". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lonzo Ball among stars on final rosters for Ballislife All American Game". USA Today. April 12, 2016. Archived from the original on May 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ Flores, Ronnie (April 25, 2016). "Mr. Basketball 2016: Lonzo Ball". CalHiSports.com. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ Maffei, John (March 14, 2016). "Foothills to face No. 1 Chino Hills". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016.
  12. ↑ Maffei, John (March 15, 2016). "Unbeaten Chino Hills halts Leaf's Knights". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 26, 2016.
  13. ↑ Norlander, Matt (August 7, 2015). "Five-star forward T.J. Leaf de-commits from Arizona; UCLA now favorite?". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Zeigler, Mark (August 6, 2015). "Foothills' T.J. Leaf decommits from Arizona". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  15. 1 2 Ryan, Conor (January 17, 2016). "UCLA commit T.J. Leaf showcases versatility in Hoophall Classic win". MassLive.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  16. ↑ Kaufman, Joey (November 12, 2015). "Five-star power forward T.J. Leaf commits to UCLA". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016.
  17. ↑ Hines, Travis (May 19, 2016). "Looking Forward: UCLA, Steve Alford and college basketball's most intriguing season". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016.
  18. ↑ Johnson, Chris; Woo, Jeremy (November 12, 2015). "Five-star forward T.J. Leaf commits to UCLA Bruins, Steve Alford". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  19. ↑ Hines, Travis (May 19, 2016). "Looking Forward: UCLA, Steve Alford and college basketball's most intriguing season". NBCSports.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2016.
  20. ↑ "SWEDEN SNATCH GOLD, SLOVENIA PROMOTED". FIBAEurope.com. August 3, 2015. Archived from the original on May 24, 2016.
  21. ↑ Chavers, Kyle (March 8, 2016). "Naismith Trophy Boy's High School All-America Team presented by Hilton Worldwide" (Press release). Naismith Trophy. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016.
  22. ↑ "2014–15 All-San Diego Section boys basketball team". The San Diego Union-Tribune. March 25, 2015. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016.
  23. ↑ "2015–16 All-CIF San Diego Section boys basketball team". The San Diego Union-Tribune. March 12, 2016. Archived from the original on May 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2014/05/19/5-star-calif-forward-tj-leaf-has-indiana-ties/9279731/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to T. J. Leaf.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.