Looking Ahead: Leaky Black

THI’s annual series taking a look at the Tar Heels returning for next season is back. It must be noted that North Carolina has signed two prospects for the class of 2021 who will join the program in the summer and brought in two players from the transfer portal.

Next season will also be the first for Hubert Davis at the helm of the Tar Heels.

Today, we look at senior wing guard Leaky Black:

The question many in the media asked going into the 2020-21 season was what does a healthy Leaky Black look like?

It made sense to ask, given that Black didn’t play much as a freshman before suffering an injury in January that kept him out for most of the rest of the season, and that he was banged up for most of his sophomore campaign. He returned in the postseason as a freshman and played sparingly.

The following season, Black battled through a few ailments, including a turf toe that limited his explosiveness, so many people wondered what kind of player he would be if fully healthy and his full game on display.

That answer came during his junior campaign, and the answer is that Black is a solid player, a glue guy who may not be as quick off the dribble or explosive to the rim as some may prefer, but there is a calmness to his game and a hoops IQ that if paired with the right group of players on the floor, Black could serve as the perfect complement.

The problem is that Tar Heels didn’t often have that combination on the court last season. Sometimes, Caleb Love, RJ Davis, and Kerwin Walton played in a manner in which Black was needed to do more than his sill set could deliver, and that’s when his struggles shooting the three or driving on his man were more apparent.

But Black always knew what Roy Williams wanted on the floor. Maybe he was not a coach on the floor, because he is not a particularly vocal player, but he was s stabilizer, and at times stepped forward when absolutely needed.

Take the 67-65 win at Miami on Jan. 5. Black scored a career-high 16 points that night, including converting all four of his three-point attempts. How amazingly out of character was that? Black was 6-for-41 from three in UNC’s other 28 games.

He was also on the ball when UNC was setting up a game-winning play in which Black found Andrew Platek for the victorious points. Williams wanted the Charlotte native running the point on that play.

“I got it and wanted to go right into fist because we practice it every day, that’s what we’re most comfortable (with),” Black said that night, describing the play. “I looked down in the post and I’m pretty sure they were fronted. I tried to get to the other side to get it to them, and then Andrew’s guy helped off him, so I just kicked it to Andrew, and he made a huge play with the floater.”

He also hit the game-winning shot to defeat Notre Dame in a contest the struggling Tar Heels desperately needed. More?

Black grabbed seven or more rebounds in seven games twice pulling down 10. He handed out four or more assists in six games with highs of seven in a January win over Syracuse and eight in a win the same month over Wake Forest. And Black registered multiple steals in 10 games.

Perhaps Carolina’s best defensive player, certainly it was something Williams pushed, so was his overall importance to the team. Black averaged just 5.6 points per game while shooting 36.7 percent from the floor, including 22.2 percent from the perimeter, he also averaged 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. But his game is about more than stats.

“I always expect Leaky to be great defensively and be very intelligent,” Williams said.

And so will Hubert Davis moving forward.

With Carolina’s guards a year older and likely considerably better, Black won’t be asked to do some of the things the team needed from him at times last season. A more spread-out look might allow for some interesting movement so he can use his savvy and in finding mates and also getting some looks rolling to the basket.

Black can be a very useful player with scorers around him, and that should be the case next season with improved play from the guards and Brady Manek on the perimeter shooting threes. Black’s qualities should shine more.

Black will be a solid player who can give Davis a high-level floor game. Whether or not Black adds a lot statistically may not matter, it is the many little things he does and might do even better next season that makes him valuable to the Tar Heels. Too many people judge Black by his raw numbers, but that is a mistake, and would be looking ahead to next season.