MakingMeyers.com

Meyers has put up a website with his goals and workout schedule for the off season. I don't recall a player ever doing this. I'm impressed.

http://www.makingmeyers.com/

 

Here is an article about him from his hometown.

...

Make no mistake about it, Meyers Leonard is the biggest star to call the Crawford County town of less than 8,000 home.

But now, with the admirers gone from the Robinson High gym, Leonard isn’t being treated like a star.

Wearing gray Nikes, red Trail Blazers game shorts and a white Meyers Leonard camp T-shirt, the two-year NBA veteran is being put through an individual workout by Portland assistant coach Kim Hughes, a native of Freeport in town to help Leonard with his camp. Jump shots from both baselines, both wings and the top of the key. Free throws, jumpers off pick-and-pop and layups off pick-and-roll.

“If you miss the shot and you don’t follow it and get the rebound, you owe me four down-and-backs,” Hughes tells Leonard.

Two years after he was drafted 11th overall by Portland, Leonard hasn’t made an impact in the league. He’s been criticized: The numbers he posted as a rookie (5.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 17.5 minutes in 69 games) dropped last season (2.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 8.9 minutes in 40 games).

“It was an up-and-down year,” Leonard said. “But I’ve learned a lot more and gotten a lot better than what people can see from the outside looking in.”

Leonard remains confident. Teammates, most of whom gushed publicly about his skill and potential at the end of the season, know what he’s capable of. Most important, the coaches in Portland believe the 245-pound freak of an athlete will soon be a solid contributor.

“He does have great potential,” said the 62-year-old Hughes, a former Wisconsin standout who played for the Nets, Nuggets and Cavaliers. “I think he’s going to be very good.”

The 6-foot-11 Hughes, a former Nuggets and Clippers assistant who was the Clippers’ interim head coach for 33 games in 2010, said Leonard deserved more minutes last season than he got, but with the team making a playoff run, Portland didn’t use its bench much.

Hughes said Leonard’s outside shot is solid, and his still-developing post game is serviceable. It’s at the defensive end where Leonard needs to make his most improvement.

“The things he has to work on is challenging shots more often,” Hughes said. “If he just assumes a presence defensively, he’s a help defender, he’ll get a few more minutes. That’s typical of big men in our league, he’s got to get minutes to get better. Until he gets more minutes on the floor, he’s going to be a little bit behind in terms of progression. But all big guys get better by playing; none of them get better by watching.”

The relationship between Leonard and Hughes is player-coach, but each considers the other to be a dear friend. It’s part of the reason Hughes traveled with Leonard to help out with his camp, which will benefit Robinson High School, Highland Church of Christ and help contribute to the medical bills of one of Leonard’s close friends from his hometown who recently discovered he had a brain tumor.

During a quick lunch between camp sessions at Los Jardines Mexican Restaurant, Hughes kids Leonard for burying his nose in his iPhone as well as his order: chicken, steak and grilled onions smothered with cheese and three tortillas.

The relationship with Hughes is why Leonard says he has no regrets about leaving Illinois with two years of eligibility remaining.

“I just look at my situation and it seems like every time I have a big step in my life, someone is there for me to help me, and Kim is exactly that,” Leonard said. “Who knows if I come out a year later if he’s going to be there or what team I end up going to.”

But the NBA is about production, not friendships, and Leonard and Hughes know that for Leonard to stick around, he’s going to have to start contributing more — and soon.

Leonard has one more guaranteed year on his rookie contract that will pay him about $2.3 million next season, while the Blazers hold a team option for the following year.

“I have to prove myself, be assertive, show the coaches I’m worthy and go to my strengths on the court,” Leonard said. “I can shoot the ball, finish around the rim and continue to work on defensive rebounding. As long as I do that, they’ll respect that and I’ll continue to get more minutes.”

Hughes, who has worked with Chris Kaman, DeAndre Jordan, Elton Brand, Antonio McDyess and Blake Griffin, doesn’t think Leonard is far away. And there isn’t much separating Leonard from Robin Lopez and Joel Freeland, the big men ahead of him on the Portland depth chart.

“Some of it’s chemistry. It’s a mental thing, and we work on it all the time. His confidence is there,” Hughes said. “He just needs to make that next step defensively where he’s more of a team, help defender. He can, and I think he will.”

Leonard, 22, has handled the ups and downs of his career with the maturity of someone much older while maintaining his youthful, sometimes- immature charm.

“I don’t think he’s necessarily a mature kid, but I’m an immature person myself, and you just have to recognize that,” Hughes said. “I think he’s got a good heart. I think he’s handled the trials and tribulations very well.”

***

Hughes said Kaman and Jordan didn’t excel until later in their careers.

“In our league, a lot of big guys don’t play until their third year. This is his third year; it’s a very big year for him. Year 3 and 4 are very big years for big guys,” Hughes said. “I worked with DeAndre Jordan, and he didn’t get any time until his fourth year. It takes them a little more time to progress and reach their potential, but, in my opinion, bigs are invaluable in our league and in high school and college. You win with bigs. You’ve got to have not necessarily big guys who dominate the middle, but you can’t coach size.”

The hope for Leonard is to play out his career in Portland. He loves everything about the city “except for the rain,” he said.

The fans are supportive. “I asked Terry Stotts and Kim, and they really think we have the best fans,” Leonard said. “They’re so knowledgeable.”

...

http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/...29/marcus-jackson-things-looking-leonard.html

 

Question and Answers from his hometown paper:

Q: What was your "Welcome to the NBA" moment?
A: My first game as a rookie, we opened at home and we played the Lakers -- with Kobe (Bryant) and Dwight (Howard).
I came in the game and within a minute or so there was a foul and they went to the free-throw line. I got in position to box out, then I look over and it's Kobe Bryant standing there. I wasn't in awe, but I was thinking to myself, 'Holy smokes, it's finally here. You're in the NBA and you're doing this.'

Q: You got regular minutes and put up decent numbers as a rookie. How did you feel about your first season?
A: There were ups and downs. l hit the "rookie wall," where you get tired in late January-early February just because you're not used to playing 82 games, flying all over the place -- four or five cities in six or seven -- and playing against guys bigger, physical and more athletic than you faced in college.
I was in a situation where I got some free minutes because we didn't have a lot of depth, and I took advantage of that for sure. I thought I did a pretty decent job. It's tough as a young big -- it takes a lot of playing time to learn how to play the position right.
It's especially challenging on defense. If you think about it, I played at a small high school, so that experience isn't relative at all. In college, I didn't play much as a freshman, so that's not relative. My sophomore year I got some experience guarding bigger players, but coming in as a rookie ... I just hadn't faced that on a regular basis.
This past season started out bad with the Achilles injury and never picked up steam. Outside of a couple stretches, Leonard didn't see much playing time. He appeared in just 40 games after playing in 69 as a rookie.

Q: What was this season like to endure?
A: I didn't recover quickly from the injury, and a couple of teammates played well early in the season so I fell out of the rotation. I eventually worked my way back in, but then fell out again.
I continued to work extremely hard in practice but our team was very good this year and our starters played a lot of minutes, so we didn't practice much. I did my individual workouts, where I worked on my range, setting screens, and running pick and rolls. It becomes the feeling like you're a robot with those things.
I did improve a lot, but it's hard to improve when you're not in live game situations or in a practice where we're going five-on-five with the starters and everyone is getting after it.

Q: As a lottery pick who has yet to become a star player, there are going to be those who call you a bust. How difficult has it been dealing with that?
A: I had to shut down social media toward the end of last season -- I just wanted to focus on the rest of the year.
But to be honest, it really doesn't bother me. Ninety-eight percent of people have absolutely no idea what they're talking about -- they don't really know me as a person or a player. Everyone has their own opinion and they're entitled to it -- I respect that.
The people I listen to are my teammates and coaches. Sometimes people just want to get under your skin. It's not like me to fire back. It's not worth it.
Being a lottery pick with a big, athletic body -- people expected it to magically click for me. But it's not that simple. I work as hard as I can, I believe in myself and I'm going to continue to gain trust in my teammates and coaching staff.

Q: Have you developed any close relationships with members of the Trail Blazers?
A: I have. (Trail Blazers assistant coach) Kim Hughes is a good man with a great heart. He's 6-11 and he played in the NBA and ABA -- he won the NBA title in 1975 playing with Dr. J. He was an assistant with the Clippers for nine or 10 years and was head coach of the Clippers for part of the season.
(Current Trail Blazers General Manager) Neil Olshey used to be the Clippers' GM, and he brought Kim over from L.A. to work with me. He worked with Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Elton Brand and Chris Kaman over there.
We've grown extremely close. He's so knowledgeable when it comes to the game -- I've learned so much from him.
Then there's Joel Freeland. He came in as a rookie with me, but he'd already played six or seven years in Spain before me came here. We're very close.

Q: Freeland, a fellow center, was a player who took time away from you this year. How did that affect the relationship?
A: Between the lines, it's competitive between us. But we're both nice, genuine people off the court. We know it's never personal. There will never be hate or jealousy between us. It's only business.

Q: You've said your goal this summer is to play as much high-level competitive basketball as possible, including NBA Summer League again (beginning July 12). What are aspects of the game you'll be focusing on heading into your third season?
A: The coaches love my ability to space the court and take the five man away from the basket. I just need to be a little more ready for my shot when I'm open. I also need to continue to work on my post game and defensive rebounding.
I really need to work on my one-on-one defense in the post, and my ball screen defense. Sixty-five percent of NBA offense is pick-and-roll, so that's important.
Otherwise, I have to do what I do well -- beat other bigs down the court and use my athleticism to my advantage.
Leonard's rookie contract is guaranteed through next season. After that, there's a team option to pick up a fourth year.

Q: What is your goal for this season?
A: Just to be on the court and prove to people I can be a good player. It's going to take a lot of hard work from here until whenever the last day the ball is bouncing. Hopefully, that's a really long time.
I have confidence in myself, as do a lot of people involved with the team. I just have to show it. I want to be a factor next season.

http://herald-review.com/sports/bas...cle_d76bef85-efa9-5cf3-ac78-fdb585c7563b.html

 

Well props to Meyers. He's saying the right things but more importantly he's doing the right things. Sounds like he's completely focused to working and getting better this off season.

 

I'm worried that the Blazers going after Hawes will send him the wrong message. If he wants minutes he needs to play and battle around the basket, not focusing on 3pt shots. But I like that he is putting in the work.

 

He's engaged.

 

Looks like his agent is doing all of this. Ah well, it's not authentic, all manufactured spin.