CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) 鈥� When Queens University men鈥檚 basketball coach Grant Leonard boards the team鈥檚 plane for St. Louis for its first-round NCAA Tournament game against No. 2 seed Purdue, he鈥檒l be accompanied by his staff, players and Buddy the Street Dog.
Buddy is a 2-foot tall ceramic figurine of a golden shepherd, which Leonard calls the team鈥檚 鈥渟pirit animal.鈥�
It was an idea that originated last summer when Leonard overheard his players talking about being 鈥渄ogs鈥� on the court as they prepared to make a run at the NCAA Tournament in their first season of eligibility after making the jump from Division II in 2022-23.
One of Leonard鈥檚 assistants piped in to ask the players, 鈥淲ell are you guys street dogs or PetCo dogs?鈥� That was a reference to whether they are tough or spoiled. The players naturally responded by saying they were street dogs.
A few days later, Leonard went on Amazon and purchased Buddy.
Now, Buddy travels with the team and is given out after each game to the player who displays the most grit on the court based on things playing hard-nosed defense, diving for loose balls and taking charges.
鈥淚 wanted our guys to identify with being hungry and fighting for everything,鈥� Leonard said. 鈥淪o I found Buddy and we adopted him. Now Buddy the street dog has his own chain, and his own social media site and everything.鈥�
Queens is the smallest school in the tournament in terms of enrollment size with approximately 1,500 students.
If you don鈥檛 know much about the school, you鈥檙e not alone.
When Purdue center Oscar Cluff was asked by a television reporter earlier this week what he knew about Queens, he responded 鈥渋t鈥檚 in New York somewhere.鈥�
Well, not quite.
Queens University is located in downtown Charlotte 鈥� which is known as the 鈥淨ueen City鈥� in honor of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of British King George III 鈥� just a couple of miles from where the NBA鈥檚 Hornets play.
Last week, Queens joined North Dakota State, UC San Diego, and Northern Kentucky as the only men鈥檚 basketball programs to reach the Big Dance in its first year of NCAA eligibility after in the Atlantic Sun championship.
For Queens, the last couple of weeks have been all about firsts.
This is the first time they will fly in a private jet to an away game and the first time they鈥檒l have fans 鈥� about 300 are expected to attend 鈥� at their team hotel.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all excited to soak in the moment,鈥� Leonard said.
But that doesn鈥檛 mean the Royals are coming to have fun. Players have made it clear that they鈥檙e headed to St. Louis seeking an upset.
If they do, it will be a team effort.
Although Atlantic Sun preseason player of the year Chris Ashby had 34 points and 10 3s in the conference championship game, the Royals are one of three programs in the country that have six players averaging double figures.
鈥淭here鈥檚 really no pressure for us as playmakers because we know anybody can go off in any given moment, so there鈥檚 no pressure on one person to go out there, score the ball, or make all the hero plays,鈥� guard Nasir Mann said.
Mann, the team鈥檚 leading scorer and rebounder, brings veteran leadership and tournament experience after going to March Madness with McNeese State in 2023-24. Outside of that, the Royals don鈥檛 have anyone who has played on this stage.
Leonard, who is expected to roll out one of his funky holiday-themed sweaters for the game, said he knows that his team might be nervous coming in facing a program like Purdue. The Royals are 25 1/2-point underdog, per BetMGM Sportsbook.
If they are, he plans to remind them about Buddy the Street Dog.
鈥淚 told them in the past two conference tournament games that you鈥檙e going to be nervous 鈥� and that鈥檚 OK,鈥� Leonard said. 鈥淏ut just don鈥檛 be nervous and try to shoot your way out of it. Be nervous and make a hustle play. Do the little things, the tough, things that Buddy likes to do. And that will get rid of the butterflies.鈥�
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