Anthony Leal has typically received the loudest cheers from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd during introductions since he joined the starting lineup in mid-January.
That’s in part because he’s a Bloomington native and the 2020 Indiana Mr. Basketball playing for his hometown school. But the crowd’s appreciation for Leal is perhaps more so due to his style of play – winning basketball, the type Hoosier fans have longed for in recent years. The best example of that throughout Leal’s five-year college career came Sunday, when Indiana’s season of ups and downs reached a high point with a 73-58 win over No. 13 Purdue.
took a team effort, with six Hoosiers scoring double figures. Malik Reneau’s 7-for-7 shooting and Trey Galloway’s nine assists highlighted the win. In a broad sense, it kept Indiana’s NCAA Tournament hopes alive. But turn to the minute details required to secure the upset victory, and Leal’s fingerprints were all over it.
“He’s been huge,” Woodson said. “I mean, you expect that. Anthony has been around me awhile, and he’s gone through a lot with me. We didn’t play him a whole lot early because I just didn’t play him. But he never quit working, and that’s a testament to him in terms of how he approaches the game. Now he’s getting an opportunity to play, and he’s making the most of it. You expect that from seniors. I mean, I wouldn’t expect anything less. So it’s a good showing tonight, based on how we played in the second half. So I’m happy as hell.”