He’s still on the basketball court, but Al Leonard is switching from a referee’s pinstripes to Bothell Blue this winter.

The Lady Cougars’ new coach knows the school well — he’s a longtime football assistant — but now he’ll call the 4A Kingco gyms home for the next few months.

“He’s everything we wanted in a coach. He’s passionate, he cares about us, he’s inspiring. He wants to make us better. He says, ‘I believe in you,’” said senior forward and co-captain Nickie Anderson.

Added senior guard and co-captain Kaitlyn Flanigan: “And he’s surrounded himself with knowledgeable people.”

The first-time hoops coach — who’s reffed for 30 years — has called upon Whitman College’s Eric Bridgeland to school him in the motion offense.

“There’s no predicated set moves. You don’t have to have big kids … the kids need to understand spacing and move the floor,” said Leonard, who has six sophomores, four seniors and two juniors on his squad (six players are 5-foot-10 or above). “We’re going to play an up-tempo offense and score as quickly as we can.”

And there’s more to the game plan.

“When a shot goes up, we’re crashing forward to the glass,” Leonard continued. “We’ll wear you down physically by attacking the rebound.

“And we play tough defense. When people (opponents) come into the gym, they’ll be in for a long night.”

Although Leonard enters the coaching realm in a tough situation — the Lady Cougs won just two games last season — he’s ready to push Bothell basketball back in a winning direction.

Sophomore newcomers Katie Anderson (Nickie’s sister), a point guard, and Nyah Campbell, a post, and junior guard Kayla Gleed should provide some firepower on the court, the coach said.

“We have a young team, but I can see our sophomores growing with each game, getting tougher and getting an idea of what it’s like to play varsity,” Flanigan said.

“It’s how well the seniors can lead and how well the sophomores can mature as 4A Kingco girls,” Leonard said of the team’s potential success. “There are not a lot of breaks in this schedule. The tough part will be keeping them focused, keeping an eye on what’s in front of you instead of the big picture.”

The Andersons are certainly connecting on the court and passing good vibes on to their teammates.

“My family has been waiting for this day for a long time,” Nickie said. “My sister and I have a really good bond. We used to fight a lot, but she’s my best friend and we see each other well on the court. She’s already built in (to the squad), she knows everything about you.”

Before practice last Thursday, the girls sat it a circle for about 30 minutes to discuss the previous night’s loss to Monroe. There were some laughs, but mostly serious talk about the team’s goals this season.

“Everyone has their say and gets their feelings out,” Flanigan said.

Added Nickie Anderson: “It’s important for us to have our team-bonding sessions. We talk about all the things we did right and what we need to work on.”