Ava High School senior Pete Leonard joins an elite group of former Ava basketball players named to the all-state team.
Previous selections include Don Sallee 1946-47; Bob Victor 1952-53; and David Norman 1959-60.
Leonard, a 6-foot-5 center for the Ava Bears, broke five school records in his career.
His 1,744 points made him the all time career point leader, breaking the record set at 1,411 in 1956-1960 by David Norman. Other Bears in the 1,000 points club are Aaron Dalton (1994-96) with 1,309; Danny Schnieder (1988-91) with 1,167; John Potts (1981-84) 1,130; Brian Letsinger (1983-85) 1,130; John Logan (1979-83) 1,100; and Terry Ewing (1971-74) with 1,020.
Pete scored 755 points his senior season to become the single season point leader. Sallee previously topped that list with 739 points in his 1946-47 season. Schnieder had 606 points in 1990-91; Jim Thomas scored 589 points in 1965-66; Dalton had 572 points in 1995-96; and Leonard also holds the 6th spot on the list with his 562 points during his senior season.
Leonard averaged 25.1 points per game which moves him to the top of the Best Season’s Average list which was led by Schnieder’s 23.5 ppg; Thomas with 22.5; Norman, 22.3; and Harold Menzies (1956-57) with a 22.1 points-per-game average.
When Leonard sank 46 points in the Ava vs. Blue Eye game this season he became the record-holder for the most points scored in a single game. Schnieder previously held that record with 41 points against Cabool in 1990-91. Norman and Potts each had 39 points in single games. Leonard is also in the record book with a 40-point game and 39-point game in the Conway tournament, 38 points vs. Fordland in the Mansfield tournament, and a 35-point game his junior year against Norwood.
Pete also now tops the list for most field goals in a game which also came vs. Blue Eye this year when he hit 20 field goals. Potts had held that record with 17 field goals vs. Seymour in 1982-83; Potts also had 16 field goals in three other games in his career. Jerry Uhlmann scored 16 field goals against Thayer in the 1955-56 season, and Leonard had 16 field goals in a game during his junior season.
Leonard’s college plans are undecided at this time.
