Aztecs' Leonard will be headache for Owls

TUCSON, Ariz. - Temple just doesn't seem to get a break.

First, the Owls (26-7) had to defend Penn State's electrifying senior guard Talor Battle. Now, they must deal with San Diego State's super sophomore Kawhi Leonard as they take on the Aztecs on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. (TNT) in an NCAA tournament West Regional third-round game.

But defending Leonard is harder than keeping up with Battle was in Thursday's second-round matchup.

"He's a deadly combination of size, athleticism and motor," said Northern Colorado coach B.J. Hill, whose squad lost by 68-50 to the Aztecs (33-2) on Thursday.

"You don't really see guys that are 6-foot-7, 225 pounds have his skill set and play with the tenacity that he does every second that he is out there. I mean, he is what all coaches dream of."

The seventh-seeded Owls hope Leonard doesn't give them nightmares at the McKale Center.

The extremely versatile forward is a finalist for both the Naismith and Wooden national player of the year awards. He also is projected to be the 13th overall selection in June's NBA draft, according to a mock draft by DraftExpress.

Just don't tell that to Leonard.

"I'm not looking on the Internet or none of that," he said of not keeping up with NBA projections at this moment. Leonard will, however, sit down with his mother, Kim Robertson, to consider his NBA options after the season.

"I'm just focusing on my team and becoming a better basketball player," he added.

The truth is, the soft-spoken and unassuming 19-year-old doesn't care about the attention he receives.

"This stuff doesn't matter to me," Leonard said. "I'm not trying to impress nobody. I'm not into looking into all the articles. That's because when I was starting to play, I was never one of the top people in the nation."

Not being ranked had a lot to do with his not playing AAU basketball until 10th grade. Gradually, he received exposure for his athleticism. And as a senior at Riverside King High, he was named California's Mr. Basketball.

Now, two seasons later, Leonard is making what could be his last collegiate season a memorable one.

Utilizing his 7-foot wingspan, he leads a balanced attack in scoring (15.6 points per game) and rebounding (10.6 rebounds per game). Leonard also ranked fourth nationally with 23 double-doubles and ranked ninth in rebounding heading into Friday's tourney games.

"He's a tough matchup for us," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "Especially if we play three guards, Aaron Brown will probably start on him. That's going to be a tough matchup for Aaron Brown."

Scootie Randall will most likely defend Leonard when he gets in. But no one knows what Randall is capable of doing. The swingman will play in his second game back after missing seven games with a hairline fracture to his right foot.

"So he is a very difficult matchup for us," Dunphy said. "There's no question about it."