Bowling Green State University Athletics
McLeod Hopes Stop In Italy Leads To NBA
February 17, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2003
Growing up in Canton, Keith McLeod never thought much about traveling to other countries. He certainly never imagined being 23 and living on his own in Italy.
But thanks to basketball, the former McKinley High School star finds himself living in Livorno, Italy, and enjoying an experience of a lifetime. McLeod is the starting point guard for Mabo Prefabbricati Livorno in the Italian A League, the country's top pro league. He joined the team in August and except for a one-week break, he has spent the last six months in Italy. "When I first got over here, it was like I didn't know what I was doing," he said. "I was all by myself, no one speaks English, and I was like, `I just can't wait to get back into the gym every day.' "Now that I've been over here a while, I like it. I've been to Florence, I've seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It's been all right. I wouldn't mind coming back over." Of course, returning to Italy next year is not McLeod's ultimate goal. If all goes well, he will find himself playing back in the USA and in the NBA at this time next year. "That's why I'm doing this," McLeod said.
McLeod's stay in Italy is his chance to prove to NBA teams he can play point guard at the professional level. "I'm playing pretty well over here," he said. "I played some point guard at Bowling Green, but there they needed me more to score, so that's what I did. Over here, I'm feeling better and more comfortable handling the ball under pressure. I'm getting the ball to other people, and I'm just making other players on the team better." McLeod made Bowling Green one of the Mid-American Conference's best teams last year. At times, he single-handedly led the Falcons to wins, as they ended up earning a spot in the NIT. He hit eight game-winning or clinching shots last season, including a memorable step-back 3-pointer in the final seconds of a 60-58 win over Akron in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals that capped a 29-point night. He had a 36-point performance in the semifinals against Ball State to lead the Falcons to the MAC title game, where he scored 20 in a loss to Kent State. After averaging 22.9 points and earning honorable mention All-American honors, McLeod had hopes of being drafted by an NBA team. That did not happen.
Despite being the MAC Player of the Year, NBA teams were not sold on his future. His 1,895 career points, second most in Bowling Green history, showed he could score. But at 6-foot-2, his NBA future would be at point guard, not at shooting guard where he starred for BG and McKinley. McLeod did receive an invitation to play for Portland's summer league team. He showed enough for the Trail Blazers to invite them to their fall camp. When an offer came from Livorno, McLeod took the sure thing instead of trying to make an NBA roster as a longshot free agent. The sure thing did not seem too sure as McLeod adjusted to life in a foreign country. He had to grasp a new language and culture on his own. On the basketball floor, he adjusted quickly to playing the point. He is averaging 15 points and five assists a game, and is shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and 81 percent at the foul line. Livorno is 7-14, which puts it in the bottom half of the 18-team league. "The competition is great," McLeod said. Other Americans in the league include Tyus Edney, Trajan Langdon, Charlie Bell, Aaron McGhee, Bootsy Thornton, Terrance Roberson and Rodney Monroe. McLeod also has gotten used to the league's game-a-week schedule, which means practices are held twice a day the rest of the week. And as time passed, McLeod got acclimated off the floor. He even has learned some of the language. "I know enough to kind of get where I want and as far as ordering food, and to say `Hi,' `Good morning,' whatever," he said. "But I'm not fluent." McLeod also has a satellite dish that allows him to watch some American television. On this night, a little past 10 o'clock on a Tuesday in Livorno, he was watching a Duke-North Carolina college basketball game from nearly a week earlier. "We get them late, but it's better than not at all," he said.
McLeod has learned to enjoy the things that come with playing pro ball overseas, such as interaction with fans. "We go to schools, elementary schools, and we'll have little get-togethers where we meet the fans," he said. "We'll have games set up for them where they can win jerseys. And the fans are pretty cool, but sometimes they can get a little crazy over here." McLeod has encountered some anti-American sentiment.
"It's not too bad, but I think sometimes they have the usual attitudes that they think Americans are lazy," he said. "The day Yugoslavia beat the Americans (in the World Basketball Championships), everyone was cheering. They love to see us lose ... I guess like everybody in other countries." As tensions increase between the U.S. and Iraq, McLeod finds himself tuning his satellite to Fox News. "I try not to think too much about what could happen while I'm over here, but yeah, the whole situation, it is kind of scary," he said. "There's an American military base, Camp Darby, that I go to sometimes. "I know one of they guys on the base, and I can go there and buy American groceries and food. "If something happened and it got really bad over here, they'd take all of the Americans to Camp Darby and fly them out. Hearing stuff like that, you think, `Man, is it really going to get to that.' That's scary." McLeod, though, does not dwell on that.
Instead, he is focused getting to the NBA. He knows a big summer is ahead of him after his Italian season ends in May. Until then, he plans to make the most of his stay. "I've got an apartment, a car and a salary," he said. "I can't really complain about anything. For now, it's an incredible experience. I'm getting to go places I'd never go to if I wasn't playing basketball." You can reach Repository sports writer Chris Beaven at (330) 580-8345 or e-mail:
