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Portland Trail Blazers rookie center Meyers Leonard was a guest on CBS This Morning on Saturday. He was joined on the national morning show, hosted by Rebecca Jarvis and Anthony Mason, by his brother Bailey, a former Marine, to discuss a tear-jerking video of Bailey making a surprise trip to a University of Illinois practice last season.
Video of the interview is here. A transcript is below.
Meyers Leonard on the surprise
It was such a real moment. It was an unbelievable surprise. I hadn't seen him in so long. There were so many emotions running through my body. I was so excited to see him. I was relieved that he was finally back. It was just a real moment.
Bailey Leonard on planning the surprise
It had been about nine months. I had seen Meyers before I went on my second deployment. It was about a month before I came home. Where I was at, I didn't have phone or internet service on a regular basis. His girlfriend actually sent me a long message on Facebook, saying, 'We have this idea.' We started talking to her and she started talking to some other people, it got to the coaching staff and that's how it got set up.
Meyers Leonard on why he posted the video on his Twitter account recently
It just hit me one night that I hadn't seen it in awhile. I watched it. I decided to tweet it. I think social media is a really good way to reach out to fans and everyone. I try to share my experiences in my life, show people I'm a real person and not just an NBA player. Now it's kinda gone viral now.
Meyers Leonard on the feeling of being drafted after a tough life
Draft night was a very unbelievable night. Not only for me but the ability to share it with my family and friends who have gone through everything with me was the best part. To have my brother, my mom, coach Weber, at he table. And everyone else in the stands.
Bailey Leonard on whether he will move to Portland
As far as moving to Portland permanently, I have no idea to be completely honest. That all kind of depends on the future coming up. As far as being able to see games now, I have a lot more access to that and I'm thrilled for it.
Some thoughts and quotes from Meyers Leonard's first week can be read here.
PS: Major, belated thanks to Makaden who got there in the FanShots early this morning.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter