Heavy-hearted Anthony Leal's game-winner a joyous moment for Indiana basketball (2024)

MINNEAPOLIS —Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson calls on his NBA experience to describe senior guard Anthony Leal.

Woodson has described Leal as a “true pro” multiple times this season.

For the veteran coach, it’s the ultimate compliment he can hand out. He reserves it for players who bring the same level of effort no matter the circ*mstance, whether they are riding the bench — as Leal did for two-plus seasons —or coming through in the clutch with a put-back layup in the final seconds.

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The layup came Thursday night at the Target Center with five seconds left in the second round of the Big Ten tournament game against Penn State. Leal came crashing down from the corner to clean up a missed shot from Malik Reneau that rolled off the rim.

“Right spot, right time,” Leal said, in the locker room after the 61-59 win, but it was more than that as the “true pro” briefly put aside a real life tragedy to extend IU’s season for at least one more night.

Senior Day wasn’t the celebration it should have been for Leal. One of IU’s annual traditions is giving each senior a chance to deliver a speech to fans.

The Bloomington native saw it as a perfect opportunity to announce he was coming back for the 2024-25 season thanks to the additional year of eligibility the NCAA granted college athletes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leal was leaning towards playing a fifth year all season long —he’s less than a year away from getting his master’s degree and is a practicing real estate agent —but wanted to share the news directly with the fans.

What was meant to be a joyful reveal, was a somber moment instead. Leal knew there was an empty seat in Assembly Hall that belonged to a childhood friend who unexpectedly passed away just days earlier

“I was with him a couple hours before,” Leal said.

More: Anthony Leal’s heroics against OSU a reminder of his days at Bloomington South

Leal leaned on his friends and family to get through what he described as an “emotional” week. He told reporters he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to even deliver a true Senior Day speech.

“When you deal with a loss like that it puts a lot into perspective, you understand what’s really important,” Leal said.

What’s important to Leal is Indiana basketball.

“I think just really coming to work every day and understanding, like, me just putting this jersey on for practice, even, is more than a dream come true,” Leal said, earlier this season. “It's what I've wanted to do since I first touching a basketball.”

The Bloomington South grad, a former Indiana Mr. Basketball winner, helped the Hoosiers survive injuries to Xavier Johnson and Trey Galloway this season, but he’s done more than just provide much-needed depth.

Leal blew the roof of Assembly Hall in a 74-68 when he drained a series of 3-point shots. After clinching the game from the free-throw line, he received a rare game ball from Woodson. Indiana’s 18-point comeback against Ohio State the following week wouldn’t have been possible without Leal hitting a clutch 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go.

“I know that he would still want me to be out here playing as hard as I can, and doing what I do, that’s what I’m going to keep doing,” Leal said.

The ball found Leal’s hands again in Minneapolis, but found isn’t really the right word. Leal crashed the glass while Penn State guard Ace Baldwin Jr. just stood watching the shot go up.

It was a play his teammates had seen a thousand times before in practice.

“That's one way to help your team win,” Leal said. “I'm known for crashing the glass pretty hard in practice and people know if they are guarding me they have to box me out or they might get hurt. It's a good habit to have."

Those habits are what make his teammates light up when talking about him.

"That's a hardworking guy right there,” Johnson said. “He's got my respect. I would go to war with him any day, every day, against anybody. He works hard. He competes at a high level every time.”

Leal helped Johnson and Gabe Cupps shut down Baldwin, who dominated IU in a pair of regular-season wins, to nine points on 3 of 15 shooting. He had eight points (made his lone 3-point attempt), four rebounds and a steal in 24 minutes.

This is the first time in his career he’s played 20-plus minutes in three straight games.

Indiana’s victory celebration spilled into the locker room where Leal got to advance the Hoosiers on the bracket posted on the wall, but his mind was already elsewhere wishing he could share the joy with the friend he lost.

“I really just believe he's up there looking after me,” Leal said.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball: Anthony Leal hits game-winner in Big Ten Tourney