The Lions have made four state tournament appearances in the 21st Century, winning the Class A state title in 2004 and finishing as runner-up in 2016. Future DePaul star Andre Brown became Leo’s first McDonald’s All-American in 2000 and joins Tony Parker Sr. ‘75 and Donald Whiteside ‘87 as Lions with NBA experience.
Shawn Frison ‘87 directed Leo to its state runner-up finish in 2016 and is 64-19 in his three seasons as varsity coach. He won the Lawless Award as Catholic League White Division Coach of the Year last season, a season that featured an 8-0 run through the White Division, a 20-6 overall record, including a 13-game winning streak, a No. 6 ranking in the Chicago Sun-Times and All-Catholic League recognition for juniors Fred Cleveland and DaChaun Anderson.
Should he duplicate his junior-year achievements, Cleveland will finish his Leo career as one of the most decorated athletes in school history. In addition to winning the Lawless Award as White Division Player of the Year, he was named first-team All-Area and second-team All-City by the Chicago Sun-Times and first team Class 2-A All-State by the Associated Press after averaging 18.8 points, 8.1 assists and 3.5 steals per game.