Former ABA and NBA pro learned core values at the Greater Cleveland YMCA

By Rick Haase

(Jan. 10, 2010) Emmanual Leaks Emanuel “Manny” Leaks, Jr. grew up in the Greater Cleveland YMCA.

As a kid, he spent a lot of time in the YMCA then located on East 105th Street between Euclid and Carnegie Avenues.

“The Y was always conveniently there for me as an athlete and someone committed to their sport,” he said.

Leaks was the first African American player from Cleveland to make the pros in basketball, which, as many may not know, the YMCA invented. He was drafted in the second round in 1968 by the Detroit Pistons to the American Basketball Association.

And the YMCA continues to be there for Leaks today. He works out three times a week at the Downtown YMCA, 2200 Prospect Avenue.

His basketball career proved to be a journey that ultimately took him around the country – and around the world.

Leaks, who played both Center and Forward during his six year pro basketball career, began with the Kentucky Colonels, and played for the New York Nets, the Dallas Chaparrals before joining the National Basketball Association where he played for both the Washington Bullets and Philadelphia 76’ers.

“I never forgot where I came from,” he said.

It all started as a child.

He first came to the Y when he was between 7 and 10-years-old.

“My mother and father thought very highly of the Y – they set that example (for me and my sisters).

There, he swam, played ping-pong and other games.

As Leaks got older, he would come to the Y to “condition,” before work.

“The Y was very important in my development,” he said.

“It has always been a place where I could get a good workout in a clean and healthy environment, and have a strong support system.”

According to Leaks, there were many times during his professional career where he was “tested.”

“I had to call on my strong family values when that happened,” he said. “It’s one of the reasons I love the Y – the values.”

The four core values of the YMCA of Greater Cleveland are caring, respect, honesty and responsibility.

Leaks, who now works as a licensed social worker and an expert in the areas of public relations, youth development and community networking, is also a motivational public speaker.

He holds a Master’s Degree is Social Administration from the prestigious Mandel School of Applied Social Science at Case Western Reserve University. His undergraduate degree is in Sociology from Niagara University in Niagara Falls, NY.

During his ABA and NBA career, Leaks was one of the top centers in those leagues, playing alongside greats Spencer Haywood, Rick Berry, Elvin Hayes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlin.

One of his favorite memories is playing against the infamous “Dr. J,” in the Rucker Tournament in Harlem, NY.

That game was where he was recruited for the NBA.

“I fed Dr. J,” he said. “I passed him the ball.”

He calls his time with the Philadelphia 76’ers, whom he described at that time as “the worst team in the NBA, as the period when he had some of his “greatest games.”

“I had to learn to be positive in that situation,” he said. “I averaged 11 points per game and I very seldom had the ball thrown to me.”

During a game against the Milwaukee Bucks, he played against Abdul-Jabbar.

“I blocked two (of his) shots,” Leaks remembered with a smile. “We had to fight for every point we got (in that game). We won by two points. That taught me a lesson about perseverance.”

All in all, his pro career was “a wonderful experience,” Leaks said, “with challenges to be overcome, in managing your experience and managing your journey.”

The family values instilled by his late parents, Emanuel and Sadie Mae Leaks, which were further strengthened through the Greater Cleveland YMCA, led him to Washington, D.C. at the conclusion of his pro career. He enrolled in graduate courses in Communications at Howard University, and landed a job working for the Department of Corrections as a Recreation Specialist.

In that role, he spent time working in an area prison.

“I wanted to help youth specifically. I felt strongly a commitment to help people.”

Leaks has held a variety of positions throughout his career, including Social Studies Teacher and Head Basketball Coach at East Technical High School (his alma mater), Milieu Therapist at Laurelwood Hospital and Counseling Centers, In-Home Therapist for Berea Children’s Home and Family Services, Youth Employment Counselor/East Cleveland Career Development Liaison for the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, and in three roles for the Center for Families and Children.

Those roles included Director of the Safe Harbor Program, Professional 1-AOD Assessor for the Cleveland Cares Program, and CSP/Case Manager for the Community Support Program.

Leaks has also served as a Treatment Coordinator for the Ohio Youth Advocate Program.

A foster parent of four boys, including a set of twins through the Beechbrook Center in Beachwood, Leaks was inducted in 2004 into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.

He also spent time in Somalia in 1981 as Advisor and Coach to the Somalian National Basketball Team in Modadishu, sponsored by the American Embassy in Washington, D.C.

He currently volunteers at the Veteran’s Administration.

Through it all, he said, “the Y is instrumental in my survival.”

At 6-foot-eight and 210 pounds, Leaks’ thrice-weekly visits to the Downtown Y help him “maintain good health and a healthy diet.”

“With my (personal) emphasis n sports and family unity, I realize how the Y plays a crucial role in terms of community support,” he said. “It helps to instill (those same) values (I learned) …I like the way the Y helps us with our (societal) problems (such as homelessness through the Y-Haven program. The Y does a lot in the area of Youth Development, which is a particular area of interest for me.

“As a community, I think we should all take advantage of what the Y offers.”