Johannah Leedham

D.O.B:5/12/87

Height:5′10″

Weight:

Position:Guard

Notes:

Leedham entered the 2009-10 season at Franklin Pierce University regarded as one of the most promising young players among a talented pool emerging on the GB national team.

To underline the point, in quick succession in December 2009, the 5’10” guard was named British Basketball’s Olympic Athlete of the Year and was then named an Honorable-Mention Nominee for Player of the Decade by Women’s Division II Bulletin in the US, an influential publication which had also named the Brit their pre-season national player of the year in each of the previous two seasons.

Leedham was born in Chester and, fittingly, when her talents earned her a place in the US academic system it was at the Cheshire Academy in Connecticut where she played prior to signing at Franklin Pierce.

Playing in Division II of US college basketball, Leedham has earned a huge reputation for herself, being named the 2007-08 Division II National Player of the Year and helping her team to consecutive places in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II Tournament. In the 2009 tournament, Leedham scored a Division II-record 149 points as the Ravens went all the way to the national title game.

The Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009, Leedham broke the Conference record for career scoring in November 2009 and was expected to break a number of other school and Conference records before her season, and college career, was over.

College commitments have thus far limited Leedham to one GB senior campaign, the 2008 A Division group games, in which she showed extraordinary maturity, averaging 24 minutes, 11.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game over the eight matches.

But it was her efforts for the GB team at the World University Games in 2009 that earned her the accolade of British Basketball’s Player of the Year. As GB collected a creditable sixth-place finish at the tournament in Belgrade, Leedham averaged 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds a game over seven matches.

Those performances earned her a place on the Eurobasket.com All-World University Games second team and, along with her earlier outstanding displays for GB at under-20 level in the summers of 2006 and 2007, demonstrates why she is considered such a huge part of GB’s future.

Damian Jennings says: “If I had to pick, I would say Joanne will be THE player everyone is talking about in 2012. Offensively, she has an incredible nose for the basket while, defensively, her pressure on the ball is very, very good; her hand speed allows her to get a large number of steals. She lives for the fast break, and has the ability to carve up her defender with an innate ability to finish around the rim. There are a couple of areas – like her speed-endurance – where she knows she needs work and if she works on them she could be a really complete player.”