Alan Black signs off from Tigers in some style

ALAN Black's last game in charge of the Willetton Tigers is one he won't soon forget given the eventual 81-point margin and he is confident of leaving the SBL in good hands with son Stephen taking over as coach of the Men's program for the rest of 2016.

Black took over as coach of the Tigers ahead of the 2015 SBL season and given his credentials as a former NBL player, and then Perth Wildcats championship coach as well as having been in charge of the Illawarra Hawks, Sydney Kings and Cairns Taipans, it was quite the coup.

And Black's presence enabled the Tigers to rebuild their team that had missed the playoffs the previous three seasons into one that was again vastly more competitive with a 14-12 record to finishing sixth spot before coming up short to the South West Slammers in the quarter finals.

And again the Tigers have started the 2016 season strongly sitting in third position with a 5-3 record following the 81-pont ANZAC Day victory over the Kalamunda Eastern Suns at Willetton Basketball Stadium.

That will prove to be Black's final game in charge of the Tigers as he takes up a post with the Malaysian Institute of Sport, but with his son Stephen to take over the reins with a strong, talented playing group, he feels he is leaving the team in a good position.

"It was an Interesting game. I probably prefer a contest like the overtime women's game but happy with the win and the way the boys stayed at it," Black said.

"I'm very happy with the recruiting both on and off the court. Adam Nener, Stephen Black and Mark Heron are quality people with great basketball knowledge and excellent coaching credentials.

"Bringing Josh Johnson and Kyle Armour back to Willetton was really important as well as being able to keep players like Nic Cody, Andrew Black and the Willetton juniors coming through.

"Damien Scott was also a big coup for the Tigers and Jay Bowie has a tremendous work ethic and playing ability so the team is pretty set up not only for this year but hopefully into the future."

Stephen Black now takes over as coach of Willetton for the rest of 2016 and following a playing career that saw him win two NBL championships, and having earned his coaching credentials since, his father is happy and content to hand over the reins to him.

"I would think eventually he will move into the NBL ranks," he said.

"Stephen's playing ability is well known but he has also coached in the QBL and been an assistant with the Gold Coast with Joey Wright so he really knows what he is doing."

Black has most recently been working at WA Institute of Sport as well as his duties at the Tigers and working as an NBL commentator for ABC Radio.

When the opportunity came up for a position with the Malaysian Institute of Sport, he thought it was something he would like to challenge himself with given everything he has done in Australia. He is now looking forward to it while acknowledging how big of a step it is to commit to.

"I'm very excited about the role at the Malaysian Institute of Sport," he said.

"It's my first time working overseas and working with all sports like I have been doing in the Performance Team Director position at WAIS. Bad timing from the Tigers point of view and I would have loved to see the season out but unfortunately SBL coaching is a hobby not a job."

As for the state of basketball in WA as Black embarks on his next venture, Black likes much of what he sees and feels things will continue moving in the right direction provided some more steps are taken to help the game grow.

"Basketball is moving in the right direction with the changes made to WABL but it will take a while for this to trickle through. We still need more courts and Councils around Perth and the regions should be coming to the party more than they currently are," Black said.

"The SBL competition is extremely tough, well coached and administered. There is some work to do with the State teams as the National Age competitions give us an indicator of where Basketball in WA sits against the rest of the country.

"Currently we are a little below par but if the weekly competition can get stronger then that should improve the State team performances."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by June Halliday




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