Getting to know T.J. Leaf
UCLA freshman T.J. Leaf is officially a member of the Indiana Pacers. Let’s try and learn a little more about the guy.
The Pacers have some new blood after long last. With the 18th pick, the team drafted T.J. Leaf, a freshman big man out of UCLA. We’ll go deep into how Leaf impacts the Pacers from a basketball standpoint soon enough, but for now, let’s just try and get to know the newest Pacer a little more.
Who better to give you an introduction to Leaf than a guy that just spent half an hour reading his Wikipedia page?
A lot of people. A lot of people would be better. But you’re stuck with me.
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Leaf was born in Israel and lived there until just before his third birthday. His father, Brad Leaf, was a professional basketball player and was suiting up for Macabi Tel Aviv at the time. After that, the Leaf family moved to El Cajon, California right outside San Diego. Leaf was always tall for his age, but made sure to hone his guard skills, taking after the versatile European big men with whom his father played.
At Foothills Christian high school, Leaf developed a bit of a rivalry with future teammate Lonzo Ball. Ball’s Chino Hills team beat Foothills their senior year, but not without overcoming Leaf’s 44 points. Ball and Leaf finished first and second respectively for California’s Mr. Basketball award.
Leaf first committed to play at the University of Arizona in 2014, but then decommitted a year later and attended UCLA instead. Some have speculated that this could have been because Leaf was cut from the USA U-19 team training camp in 2015, and hat team was led by Sean Miller, the coach of the Arizona Wildcats. Such speculation is just that, however.
Once at UCLA, the rivalry between Leaf and Ball quickly morphed into a close friendship. Leaf and Ball, along with fellow Pacer Ike Anigbogu, were constantly hanging out together, according to this Lee Jenkins profile of their UCLA team back in January. Anigbogu and Leaf also had a pre-existing relationship, having been AAU teammates.
Next: Lavoy Allen's team option has been declined
Leaf has said in multiple interviews that he’s insanely competitive, but other than that, he hasn’t showcased much of his personality yet. Here’s hoping that we learn more about the young forward as next season progresses.