With the 11^th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, the Blazers selected Meyers Leonard from the University of Illinois.  When the Blazers selected Leonard we all thought they were just picking up a big body with a lot of potential.  But after joining Chad in the afternoon on Tuesday, we learned that he is much more.

Leonard has not had an easy upbringing.  He lost his father at just six years of age and was forced out of his home due to foreclosure before hitting his teenage years.  After his father’s death, Meyers' mother and his brother, Bailey, were forced to live on the floor of an apartment that had no furniture, no electricity and no running water.  In addition, Meyers’ mother was unfit to take care of him for most of his childhood because of a debilitating horseback injury that happened not long after the death of his father.

Although he did not have the traditional support system that most people would expect, Leonard was blessed to have some great people in his life.  Leonard was blessed with a surrogate family who took care of him as their own because his mother’s health did not allow her to provide him with adequate support. And his brother, who is only 22 months older than he is, took on many of the other responsibilities of raising him until the day he joined the Marines in 2008.

Now that he is in Portland, Leonard is trying to carve out a spot as the starting center for the Portland Trail Blazers.  And alongside fellow rookie Damian Lillard and All Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, he’s trying to cement himself as one of the cornerstones of the franchise.  And given what he has overcome already in his life, I think we should expect to see Mr. Leonard accomplish that goal.

Take a listen as Leonard recaps the first couple days of practice, but pay extra attention as he shares the story of how he got to this point.

And if you haven’t checked out the heartwarming video below, do yourself a favor and watch it. But you may want to have a tissue nearby.