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Grant Leonard holds the net at the Atlantic Sun Conference championships. (Courtesy of Queens University of Charlotte)<\/p>\nThis article was republished from\u00a0The Charlotte Ledger.<\/p>\n
Grant Leonard abandoned his breakfast sandwich two bites in, the fork still stuck in a side of potatoes, courtside at Queens University of Charlotte\u2019s Levine Center.<\/p>\n
It was 10:15 a.m. last Friday morning, a week before his basketball team would play in its first NCAA Tournament, and a late breakfast just got later.<\/p>\n
Another in a litany of interviews ran up to the start of practice for the 45-year-old coach who\u2019s been shoe-horning media appearances, a recruiting trip to Florida, and a few hours of sleep at most into his daily schedule.<\/p>\n
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Grant Leonard holds the net at the Atlantic Sun Conference championships. (Courtesy of Queens University of Charlotte)<\/p>\n
Leonard, the Royals\u2019 coach since 2022, has been running on fumes lately, as the pace of the team\u2019s season has picked up. This Friday, he\u2019ll lead the team against Purdue University as big underdogs, with the chance to become the latest Cinderella story in a field of 68 that pairs powerhouses with less-heralded opponents.<\/p>\n
At the center of Queens<\/a>\u2019 story is Leonard, a colorful character who at times waited tables as he bounced through small-school coaching jobs before landing at Queens 13 years ago. He turned a hodgepodge of players into a team, while adding elements of fun\u2014like a habit of wearing holiday sweaters and introducing Buddy the Street Dog<\/a>, a stuffed German Shepherd, as his team\u2019s \u201cspirit animal.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a bunch of unique stories,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cBut really, what it\u2019s going to do is change Queens\u2019 trajectory.\u201d<\/p>\n Possibly his, too.<\/p>\n Basketball Fan with Midwestern Roots<\/p>\n Growing up in Wisconsin, Leonard\u2019s parents sprung him and his brother from school to see NCAA Tournament games in Chicago and Milwaukee. He watched Penny Hardaway play for what was then known as Memphis State University. He saw Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill, a favorite for a 10-year-old bearing the same first name, play for Duke University.<\/p>\n \u201cNow to be a part of it, it\u2019s a dream come true,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n Leonard started coaching high school in his hometown, Milwaukee, before Division III and II college stops in Maryland, Texas, Florida, and Georgia\u2014a trajectory he calls \u201cfalling upward.\u201d<\/p>\n His career choice didn\u2019t make sense to his father.<\/p>\n \u201cHe always thought I should go make a bunch of money in some business field or sales,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cThat\u2019s not where my passion was.\u201d<\/p>\n When his father was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease, Leonard moved him to Charlotte to help take care of him. Instead of seeing each other two or three times a year, his father saw him in action nearly every day.<\/p>\n \u201cHe traveled with the team, he got to know our players,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cThen he said, \u2018Now I realize why you do this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n From his father, an engineer who designed HVAC systems at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare Airport and Soldier Field, Leonard learned commitment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe foundation of who I am, the consistency of how I work is all him,\u201d Leonard said.<\/p>\n Earning a Reputation<\/p>\n When previous Queens coach Bart Lundy left for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in early 2022, Leonard got the job. Six months later, his father died. The following month, Leonard was arrested for driving while impaired.<\/p>\n He was suspended for the first five games of his first season as head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cI probably didn\u2019t deal with his passing enough right away,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cQueens was very supportive when I made the mistake. Those charges ended up dismissed and expunged, but it doesn\u2019t excuse the black eye I gave the school. Queens was supportive in getting me the counseling I needed, not just for the DUI, but for my dad, and stuck with me. I\u2019m appreciative of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Court records show he pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless driving and completed community service, a substance abuse assessment, and probation.<\/p>\n Leonard came to Queens with a reputation for recruiting. Over time, he gained Lundy\u2019s trust with X\u2019s and O\u2019s. In 2019, Leonard got his first taste of head coaching at TBT, a summer tournament for former NBA and college players with a $2 million purse. He coached a team of Division II players against former University of Kentucky players. The game was in Lexington and televised on ESPN.<\/p>\n \u201cI was throwing up in the bathroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Despite pre-game jitters, his team won 77-62.<\/p>\n In his four seasons at the helm at Queens, Leonard has shown no fear in scheduling tough opponents as well as in his wardrobe, his outspokenness, and his mindset.<\/p>\n Leonard used to wear the occasional ugly Christmas sweater as an assistant coach. When Queens students started to take notice, he decided to wear them all season. He wore \u201cLeftovers are for Quitters\u201d at the University of Virginia the day after Thanksgiving, \u201cGangsta Wrapper\u201c in Arkansas in mid-December, and Ted Lasso\u2019s \u201cBelieve\u201d to a press conference last week. He promises a St. Patrick\u2019s Day look for the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Irish,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP25351171002441.jpg\")
Queens coach Grant Leonard calls out to his team during a game against the University of Arkansas in December. (AP Photo\/Michael Woods)<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773761676_237_unnamed.jpg\")
Grant Leonard leads practice. (Carroll Walton for The Charlotte Ledger)<\/p>\n