NAHEEM MCLEOD

PTS: 16 vs. Syracuse (2-8-23)
REBS: 9 vs. Mercer (11-21-22)
BLKS: 6 vs. Louisville (12-10-22)
STLS: 1 vs. Loyola Marymount (11-21-21), at Wake Forest (1-11-23)
Games Led Team In Rebounding: 2 (7 vs. Duke, 1-18-22) (9 vs. Mercer, 11-21-22)

I chose to wear No. 24 at Florida State because it reminds me of Kobe.  With him also being from Philadelphia it makes me think my hometown city always has my back.

Naheem McLeod is the 17^th player in school history to wear uniform No. 24 for the Seminoles. The number was worn for three consecutive years by Greg Collinsworth – the brother of Cris Collinsworth who is one of the top NFL broadcasters on NBC, the NFL Network and Showtime. Greg Collinsworth played for three seasons (1979, 1980, 1981) and was a member of Florida State’s 1980 NCAA Tournament team.

My full name is Naheem Yamma McLeod.  I am named after my grandfather on my dad’s side of the family (Naheem) and my dad (Yamma).

My hometown of Philadelphia, Pa. is a big city with some of the best fan support across the nation. People in Philly take sports seriously and we are well-known for the great food and great people.

Beacuse of Boosters (February 1, 2023)

Made the decision to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 19, 2023…played in two seasons and 46 games as a Seminole…blocked a total of 40 shots in his 46 career games including his career-high of six blocked shots in Florida State’s victory over Louisville on December 10, 2022…his six blocked shots against the cardinals is tied for the 14^th highest single game total in school history…his career-highs for points scored in a game (16 against Syracuse during his sophomore season) and rebounds (six against Louisville during his sophomore season) came in ACC play…has a strong shooting touch and is a reliable outside shooter who worked to improve his play outside the paint in his two seasons at Florida State…comfortable with the ball in his hands and passes out of the post very well…his size makes him a mismatch for just about every player in college basketball…has two years of eligibility remaining at the beginning of the 2023-24 season…initially signed with Florida State in Head Coach Leonard Hamilton’s 2019 recruiting class before spending two years (2019-20 and 2020-21) at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla…did not play basketball during the 2019-20 season at Chipola…helped lead Chipola to the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas in 2021…helped lead Chipola to the FSCAA Championship in 2021…considered to be the fifth best prospect in the state of Pennsylvania and the 24^th best center in the nation by 247Sports in 2019… played in the 2017 Philadelphia vs. New York All-Star game…participated in the Play by Play Invitational at the Iverson Classic which is made up of the best players in the Philadelphia area following his senior season…earned the award as the Seminoles’ best field goal percentage shooter as Florida State’s annual Honors Banquet hosted by Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and is staff in 2022. 

Averaged 3.8 points (eighth on the team), a career-high 2.7 rebounds (eighth) and a career-high 1.2 blocked shots (first) while shooting .547 from the field…totaled career-high statistics for games played (28), games started (11), minutes played (368), minutes played per game (13.1 mpg), field goals made (4), field goals attempted (86), free throws attempted (32), total points (107), offensive rebounds (32), defensive rebounds (43), rebounds per game (2.7), assists (five) and blocked shots (33), while tying his career-best for free throws made (13) and steals (one) in his second season as a Seminole…totaled multiple blocked shots in nine different games in his second season including five in Florida State’s win over Mercer (Nov. 21) and six in the Seminoles’ win over Louisville (Dec. 10)…played in a career-high 17 ACC games…a career-high four double-figure scoring games with 10 against Stanford in the second round of the ESPN Events Classic (Nov. 25), 11 against Miami in Coral Gables (Jan. 11), 12 in Florida State’s win over USC Upstate (Dec. 13) and his career-high of 16 points in Florida State’s game against Syracuse in Tallahassee (Feb. 8)…at least one blocked shot in 14 different games with multiple blocked shots in nine games…six blocked against Louisville in ACC play, five against Mercer in a none-conference win in Tallahassee (Nov. 13) and three each against Stanford, Purdue in the ACC / Big 10 Challenge (Nov. 30) and three against Georgia Tech (March 7) in the ACC Tournament…totaled 9 rebounds and 5 blocked shots with 8 points in 31 minutes of play in Florida State’s 81-72 win over Mercer at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Nov. 21)…scored 10 points (on a perfect four of four shooting from the field) with 3 blocked shots and 2 rebounds against Stanford in the second round of the ESPN Events Invitational…totaled 6 points, 5 rebounds and a career-high 6 blocked shots in Florida State’s 75-63 win over Louisville at the Donald L. Tucker Center …scored 12 points with 3 rebounds in Florida State’s 80-63 win over USC Upstate at home…scored 7 points with 4 rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time in the Seminoles’ 75-64 win over Georgia Tech at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Jan. 7)…totaled 1 point with 1 rebound and 1 blocked shot in Florida State’s game against Miami at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Jan. 24)…totaled 7 points on a perfect 3 of 3 shooting from the field with 2 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in Florida State’s win over Louisville at the KFC YUM! Center (Feb. 4)…totaled his career-high of 16 points with 8 rebounds and 1 assist in Florida State’s game against Syracuse at the Donald L. Tucker Center.  

Averaged 5.0 points (15 total points), 4.7 rebounds (14 total rebounds), and 1.7 blocked shots (1.7 total blocks), while shooting .545 from the field (five of 11) in three games during the Seminoles’ three-game exhibition tour of Canada in August of 2022…Scored 4 points and totaled a team-high tying 8 rebounds in 21 minutes of playing time in Florida State’s 86-66 win over Ottawa in the first of its three exhibition games north of the border in Canada…a starter with 12 minutes played, 4 points and 5 rebounds in the Seminoles’ 98-64 win over Carleton in the second game of their Canadian Tour…was a perfect 2 of 2 from the free throw line (1.000 percent) with all five of his rebounds coming on the defensive end of the court…scored 7 points in 15 minutes as a starter in the Seminoles’ 90-74 win over McGill in game three of their Canadian Tour…was a perfect 3 of 3 from the field and made his only free throw attempt as Florida State finished 3-0 on their summer tour of Canada. 

Averaged 4.5 points (ninth) and 2.1 rebounds (ninth), while shooting .680 from the field…played in 18 of the Seminoles’ 31 games and was a starter in five games…missed the final 10 games of the season after he suffered a hand injury in Florida State’s game at Clemson (Feb. 2)…was playing the best basketball of his career just before getting hurt…averaged 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds in the two games immediately preceding Florida State’s game at Clemson…was 11 of 13 from the field (.846) and had scored 10 points at Georgia Tech (Jan. 26) and his season-high of 15 points against Virginia Tech at home in the Donald L. Tucker Center before the Seminoles’ trip to Clemson…his most complete games of his first year came with 9 points and a season-high 7 rebounds in Florida State’s 79-78 overtime win over No. 5 Duke at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Jan. 18)…helped contain the Blue Devils’ duo of Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero in the Seminole’ win at home against the nationally ranked Blue Devils…totaled 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 blocked shot in his Seminole debut — a 105-70 win over Penn at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Nov 10)..scored 6 points with 2 rebounds and 1 steal in Florida State’s 73-45 win over Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the Jacksonville Classic at the UNF Arena (Nov. 21)…totaled 6 points, 4 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in the first ACC game of his career against Syracuse at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Dec. 4)…scored 3 points, with 4 rebounds and 1 blocked shot in Florida State’s game against South Carolina in the Inaugural No Room For Racism Classic in Rock Hill, S.C. (Dec. 12)…scored 6 points with 1 rebound in Florida State’s 83-81 win over NC State at the PNC Arena in Raleigh (Jan. 1)…a first-time starter with 4 points in 12 minutes played in Florida State’s 76-71 win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome (Jan. 15)… scored 10 points with a season-high 7 rebounds in Florida State’s game at Georgia Tech at McCamish Pavilion (Jan. 26)…his season-high of 10 points on a perfect 7 of 7 shooting from the field and 1 of 1 on his only free throw attempt in Florida State’s game against Virginia Tech at the Donald L. Tucker Center (Jan. 29).

Earned an Associates of Science Degree in Sport Management from Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. in 2021…attended Chipola for three semesters — the spring of 2020, the fall of 2020 and the spring of 2021…played one year of basketball at the school (2020-21) following a redshirt season (2019-20)…averaged 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in helping lead Chipola to the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas…averaged nearly eight points per game as Chipola made its run to the Florida College System Activities Association (FSCAA)…Chipola finished with a 23-5 overall record and a 13-3 record in the Florida Panhandle Conference (NJCAA Region 8)…Chipola earned a 2-1 record at the national finals in Hutchinson with wins over Shelton State (April 21, 73-60) and Indian River State (April 22, 78-75) before the Indians fell to Coffeyville in the national semifinals (April; 23, 66-63)…played in 27 of the Indians 28 games with 19 starting assignments…averaged 16.7 minutes played per game and shot .694 percent (59 of 85) from the field in his only playing season at Chipola…totaled 41 blocked shots for an average of 1.5 blocked shots per game…in the national finals he totaled five points and his season-high of six blocked shots in Chipola’s win over Shelton State, eight points and 4 rebounds in its win over Indian River and zero points and four rebounds in the Indians’ semifinal loss to Coffeyville…played his season-high of 29 minutes against Tallahassee Community College, scored his season-high of 11 points in a win over Gulf Coast State (April 8) and totaled his season-high of eight rebounds in Chipola’s win over Gulf Coast (Feb. 17)…totaled three or more blocked shots in nine different games in his only season at Chipola…totaled at least 10 points in six games including a streak of five consecutive games at Tallahassee Community College (March 9, 10 points), against Northwest Florida State (March 13, 10 points), against Gulf Coast State (March 17, 10 points), and at Pensacola State (March 20, 10 points). 

Graduated from Plymouth Whitemarsh in 2019…earned All-State First-Team honors in Class 6A as a senior…6A is the highest classification in the state high school system…a three-time All-Conference selection – first team as a junior and a senior and third team as a sophomore…totaled his career-high of 41 points in the Colonials’ 66-61 victory over Norristown to open his senior season…averaged 19.5 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots as a junior…led the Colonials to a 28-2 record and to a runner-up district finish…led his team into the nation’s top-25 rankings according to USA Today…named to the All-State First Team in Class 6A and to the First Team All-Suburban One League American Conference team as a junior…Plymouth Whitemarsh also won the Suburban One League American Conference league title…the Colonials were ranked as the No. 1 team in Class 6A throughout the season…led his team to 23 straight victories to open his junior season…totaled a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds in a win over Cheltenham Wyncote and totaled 26 points in a win over Pennridge Perkasie…totaled 26 points and 10 rebounds as the Colonials topped Pennridge 79-55 in the SOLAC tournament semifinals his junior season…totaled 567 points as a junior – the 12^th highest single season total in school history…earned Third-Team All-SOLAC honors a sophomore…led Plymouth Whitemarsh to a 25-6 record, the championship of the SOLAC, and semifinal appearances in the District I Class 6A and PIAA Class 6A championships.

Born January 31, 2000…Naheem is the son of Asha Adams…his mom is 5-5 and his dad is 7-5…he also credits his aunt and uncle, Michele and Byron Whiting, for helping him get to where he is today…a sister, who also played basketball is 6-5….played for the same powerhouse high school as John Salmons, who played for Seminole Head Coach Leonard Hamilton at Miami…selected Florida State over Oregon, Penn State, Temple, Villanova and La Salle when he made his college decision in 2019…major is Social Science.