Grant Leonard on Conceptual Offense: Spacing, Pace and Player Development (EP342)

The Basketball Podcast

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Queens University of Charlotte head coach Grant Leonard joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on conceptual offense, including spacing, pace and player development.

Grant Leonard was hired by then-Division II Queens as an assistant coach in 2013 and promoted to associate head coach in 2016. Over seven years as an assistant coach, the team achieved a winning percentage of .837 with a 189–37 overall record, consistently ranking in the top 25, including a No. 1 ranking. Queens won the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) regular season championship three times, secured two SAC tournament titles, and made two Elite Eight appearances with Leonard on the staff. He was promoted to head coach for the 2022–23 season, Queens’ first season in NCAA Division I. In his first season, Queens went 18–15 with a 7–11 record in the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). Last year, his team reached the Atlantic Sun Tournament Quarterfinals for the second straight season after defeating Florida Gulf Coast University in the opening round.

Leonard began his coaching career as an assistant at Shorewood High School in 2004–05. He then assisted in coaching the Washington College Shoremen in 2005–06. For the next three seasons, he was the director of basketball operations for Texas–Pan American. In 2009–10, he served as an assistant coach for the Flagler Saints. From 2011 to 2013, Leonard worked for the Paine Lions as an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, director of skill development, and defensive specialist, helping the team achieve their first winning season in seven years in 2011–12.