Leon Daniels: Basketball is everything to me. I can’t tell you where I would be without basketball.
Joe Gaiter: What is your untold story?
Leon Daniels: I didn’t play my senior year of basketball due to an irregular heartbeat that sat me out the whole year. Also two days after I graduated high school, I went off to my community college.
Joe Gaiter: Senior year of high-school, you had to sit out due to an irregular heartbeat. What lifestyle changes did you have to make to keep yourself healthy?
Leon Daniels: I had to stop drinking soda and things with caffeine. Also, I cut out Powerade and Gatorade.
Joe Gaiter: Last year at Tallahassee Community College you averaged 12.4 points a game and over 40 steals. What were your fondest memories playing there?
Leon Daniels: My fondest moments playing at Tallahassee was playing for a coach who pushed me to be great everyday. Although I didn’t like everything he said or did it made me a man. He taught us accountability. Also, my freshman year when I wasn’t playing much and our starting guard got hurt during conference. I started the next game and had 22 and I never looked back. After that I made 2nd all conference.
Joe Gaiter: What made you choose Alabama State University?
Leon Daniels: I chose Alabama State because I was in a rush to get to school after graduating TCC. They were talking to me every day and I felt as though I would have a good relationship with my coach.
Joe Gaiter: What is your relationship like with your coaches and teammates?
Leon Daniels: Well, I have a great relationship with my teammates they are my brothers. We can talk, fuss and fight but at the end of the day we are brothers.
Joe Gaiter: What makes you a great basketball player?
Leon Daniels: I have an all-around game. I can shoot, pass, rebound and defend. I would say my forward school stem from when I was younger and was bigger than most. My guard skills developed overtime when I got a trainer and he told me I would be a PG at the next level because of my height.
Joe Gaiter: What impact do you have in the game when you are on the court?
Leon Daniels: My impact in the game can my game changing because I play with a lot of energy and hard. So I will do all the little things that don’t go on the stat sheet and the things that do.
Joe Gaiter: What has been some of your greatest accomplishments?
Leon Daniels: My greatest accomplishment is going to college for free, coming from where I come from and all of my trials and tribulations.
Joe Gaiter: Is it hard being a student athlete?
Leon Daniels: It is hard being a student athlete. People think we have it easy because we play a sport. No, we have to hold ourselves accountable when it comes to traveling and still being a student. You have to find a balance; you can’t just be an athlete.
Joe Gaiter: What are your plans after college?
Leon Daniels: I plan to play overseas for a few years and then come back and start mentoring programs through basketball for inner city children and juvenile delinquents. Also I want to do marathons for breast cancer for my aunt, who passed away from breast cancer.
Joe Gaiter: What motivates you?
Leon Daniels: Knowing where I came from and where I am now. Knowing that I can’t go back. Knowing that I have a whole generation of kids following and looking up to me. Also, being one of the 1st in my family to be playing a sport in college and having real aspirations I play after.
Joe Gaiter: Final Words?
Leon Daniels: I want to thank you guys for giving me this opportunity to do this interview with you. I want to tell others that anything is possible but it takes hard work and dedication. My mother always told me, “nothing in life comes easy, especially nothing that you want.”
Joe Gaiter: Shoutouts?
Leon Daniels: I would like to S/O all of my former coaches because they are all legends coming from New Jersey where basketball is life. All my friends that kept my head on straight through everything. Lastly to my support system, my family.
Instagram you can follow me at @Leon4one1
Twitter @larryhoover41
Leon Daniels, Alabama State, Interview with Joe Gaiter was last modified: January 22nd, 2020 by Joseph Gaiter
