Black's Carolina Career Marks Growth On And Off The Court
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Note: Leaky Black Thursday intereview posted below this article.
CHAPEL HILL – Leaky Black wasn’t ready for his North Carolina basketball career to end last season, so he came back. Hubert Davis isn’t ready for it to end now, but it will.
Black will play his final home game at UNC on Saturday night when the Tar Heels host rival Duke in a game that’s crucial on multiple levels. Perhaps hidden among the storylines is that Black will play in his 153rd game as a Tar Heel, more than any player in Carolina history.
It will also signal the end of a five-year run by the Concord, NC, native that has been loaded with challenges but met with determination to scale each hurdle, no matter how quickly they arose at times.
The Covid year granted to each athlete two years ago was used by the 6-foot-9 wing because he wanted to hang a banner, but also display aspects to his game few had seen. His mission was to also enhance his prospects of landing an NBA opportunity.
The season isn’t over, so the banner stuff isn’t a settled deal yet. A more polished season offensively along with his renowned defensive prowess has Black on the NBA radar. But as his final home game approaches, Black’s thoughts are more about what he has learned during his time at UNC, and how he has grown as a person more than the hoops stuff.
“A lot of growing pains,” he said during a press conference Thursday at the Smith Center. “It’s been a bumpy road. But looking back, adversity makes you grow up a lot faster. You would like to in most cases.”
His sophomore season still stands out as the one in which Black made the most personal strides, but he didn’t have much choice.
Carolina wasn’t exactly Carolina going 14-19. Black started at four different positions that season, as UNC Coach Roy Williams placed him in a variety of roles, including starting Black at point guard during a seven-game stretch.
But it was the non-Carolina-like record that got to Black the most.
“That part I didn’t really have a problem with,” he said, referring to having an ever-changing role. “But definitely the losing was completely new to me.”
Fans rarely get to know much about the athletes they root for, and while media might know more, few people know the full story. So during UNC’s run to the national title game last season, Black courageously revealed he had been suffering from severe anxiety for years, but it wasn’t discovered until former Tar Heel and current assistant Jackie Manuel helped him figure it out after a workout last year.
Black doesn’t seek notoriety. He regularly turns down interview requests because he’s not comfortable as the centerpiece, and he avoids the media much of the time. It’s not a simple case of a young man being aloof or having an adverse attitude, it’s just uncomfortable for him.
His teammates have known this. The coaches have known it. And over time, the media has learned it.
That is why Black’s appearance on ESPN Gameday a year ago was a surprise to many, including himself. It took some coaxing, UNC Coach Hubert Davis said, and maybe a few tricks, Black said, to get him onto the set with teammate Brady Manek.
Allow him to tell what he recalls:
“Everyone was on board except for me,” Black said, searching in his best mind for a way to lay this out. “As soon as I got there, sat down, Brady’s already mic’d up, and they look at me and are like, ‘are you ready?’
“They take me to the back, put make up on, and I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’ Next thing you know, I’m getting mic’d up to go out there and they just kind of threw me into the fire.”
He did fine, because he always does fine. A negative word about Black hasn’t been uttered in the press room at the Dean Dome. He’s easily likeable, genuine, smart, can talk a level of hoops like a future coach, and there’s a good-guy nature to Black that makes him popular among teammates.
They respect his game, too.
Davis says Black is as good a defender at the college level he has ever seen. His recent trend of shutting down opponents’ leading scorers is off-the-charts stuff. And he’s scoring more this season, too. Black is averaging 7.4 points per game and is shooting 33.8 percent from the perimeter. He is 10 for his last 21 dating back to the first Duke game.
The offensive uptick has made Black a more intriguing prospect for the next level, which was part of the mission in returning.
“Super important,” Black said about making himself into an NBA player this season. “That’s really one of the biggest reasons why I came back to show that I have more in the tank, that for four years I really haven’t had that opportunity to show. I’m grateful to hear my name out there a little bit.”
And he’s grateful for five years entrenched in this fabled program. Black has experienced both ends of the spectrum, but his time is running out. Davis says thinking about it gets him “emotional” and doesn’t like the idea of no longer coaching Black.
“My hope is everybody wants to be around good people; people that encourage you, people that put a smile on your face,” Carolina’s coach said. “And in the five years that I’ve been around Leaky, three as an assistant, two as a head coach, that’s what he’s done for me.”
Black doesn’t have an appetite for public speaking, so he may not grab a microphone and address the crowd following the game Saturday night. In case he doesn’t, here is what he said Thursday, which sums up his feelings about his time at UNC.
“I love this place,” he said. “It changed my life. I’m very grateful to be here and put the time in, the people I’ve met, the places that I’ve played – lots of ups and downs. So, it means a lot… At the end of the day, I’ve got one goal; I’m just trying to win.”