By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

During four years at the University of Cincinnati, Leonard Stokes has scored 1,264 points. He has gained about 25 pounds of muscle and grown from a quiet youngster into a confident, vocal young man.

But as Stokes prepares for his final UC game at Shoemaker Center on Wednesday night against UAB, the thing he's most proud of has nothing to do with basketball.

"I'm the first person from my family to graduate from college," Stokes said. "That's a big thing for me."

Not only did Stokes, a 6-6 senior forward, earn his degree in social sciences, he did it in three years. Along the way, he may have signed more autographs and talked to more kids after games than any player in UC history.

If UC is looking for a player who embodies what it wants its basketball program to represent, it could do a lot worse than Leonard Stokes.

"He's as good a guy as you're ever going to be around," said UC coach Bob Huggins. "And he's had a heck of a career. He's done everything above and beyond what anybody could ask him to do."

The UAB game will also be the final home game for senior point guard Taron Barker, a junior college transfer who has started 23 of UC's 24 games this year. He averages 6.5 points, leads the Bearcats in 3-point shooting at 43.1 percent and in assists at 5.2 per game.

Eugene Land, who sat out two years while rehabbing his surgically repaired right knee, has decided to petition the NCAA for an additional year of eligibility, Huggins said.

Stokes is the ninth UC player recruited by Huggins to play four full seasons at UC. He arrived as a skinny kid who had been named New York's Mr. Basketball playing at Turner Carroll High School, struggled during his freshman year, then developed into one of the top 20 scorers in the school's history.

• With 1,269 points, Stokes ranks 19th on UC's career scoring list. He needs 16 points to pass Kenyon Martin for 18th place.

• He has played in 125 games and needs three more to pass Damon Flint for fifth place in games played.

• He has played in 98 UC victories. Only Steve Logan, Keith Gregor and Bobby Brannen have played in more. If he plays in three more victories he'll pass Gregor and Brannen for second place.

When he chose UC, Stokes ignored those coaches from other schools who told him he would never play at UC and would never graduate.

But his freshman year, as it is for most players, was a strain. Senior Pete Mickeal was established at his position and Stokes played only 7.1 minutes per game.

"I just took it as a learning experience," Stokes said. "I didn't pout about it. It was a life decision I made to come here. There would be some days where I'd be frustrated. I'd go back to the dorm and think, 'What do I have to do to play?' When I got in, I made the most of it."

Kenyon Martin was a senior that year and took Stokes under his wing. He worked with him after practice, then would often go out with Stokes to get a bite to eat after practice. He taught him how to deal with Huggins' verbal tirades and he set an example to show Stokes how hard he had to work to succeed.

Stokes has tried to return the favor by helping the young players on this year's team.

"Since he's been here the longest, I watch him more than anybody," said freshman Armein Kirkland. "He knows how to react in certain situations. You just watch and learn from what he does."

Stokes' senior year hasn't been everything he hoped it would be. He leads the Bearcats in scoring with 16.0 points per game, but has been the leader of the first UC team to fail to win the Conference USA regular-season championship.

He has been criticized by Huggins for not being assertive enough and has often blamed himself for UC losses.

But he has handled the bad times as well as he has handled the good times.

"I love Leonard Stokes," said junior guard Tony Bobbitt. "I've been around a lot of players in my life, but I've never been around a player like him. Things aren't going his way this year, but he hasn't dropped his head."

Stokes had to fight back tears at one juncture as he discussed his career Monday.

His mother, Candace Quarles, will be at The Shoe on Wednesday night to see her son compete as a college player for the first time. His younger brother will also be there, along with an assortment of cousins and possibly his grandmother.

"I know it's going to be emotional," Stokes said. "I've been here for four years. The people of the city have treated me great."

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E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com