LITTLE ROCK, AR – Former men’s basketball player Gus Leeper has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team, the league office announced on Monday.
The SBC Leadership Team aims to recognize one individual from each institution that exemplifies the highest qualities of being a true student-athlete. This award is given to a letter-winning student-athlete, based on leadership, sportsmanship, community service, citizenship, academic excellence and any other qualities valued by the institution.
Leeper ends his career at UALR as one of the most academically accomplished student-athletes in department history. Leeper graduated in May 2015 with a 3.9 GPA as a double-major in international business and business management. He has been named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List at the end of each academic year since coming to UALR.
In 2013, he was one of nine students from UALR’s College of Business named to its Ambassadors Program, which provides networking opportunities and real-world work experience by pairing high achievers with Little Rock-area business leaders. In the summer of 2013, he studied abroad in Guadalajara, Mexico and held an internship in the regulatory department at Windstream in Little Rock. This summer, Leeper will start a position with Stephens Inc. – one of the most successful and respected independent financial services firms in the country – as part of the company’s private client group.
On the court, Leeper was voted a team captain prior to the start of his senior season. He played in 30 games, averaging 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game in 2014-15. He ends his career in the top 10 on UALR’s list for career games played (113).
As a freshman in 2010-11, Leeper helped lead UALR to its first-ever Sun Belt Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1990. That season, Leeper started eight of the season’s final nine games, including all four of the Trojan’s SBC Tournament games and the NCAA Tournament contest against UNC Asheville, while his minutes per game increased to 18.6 over that same span.
He reached double figures in scoring for what was then just the second time in the 2011 SBC Championship game, totaling 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting over a season-high 27 minutes in UALR’s 64-63 victory over North Texas.
