Coach Black Obituary

[realgreggym 837]

Coach Leon Black_Obituary.pdf

Coach Black passed 1 year ago today. Most of you young people probably never knew anything about him. No hoops coach has ever done more for the University than he did. This was his obituary from a year ago. He was a good man who stuck to his principles and was an extremely under rated coach. There is no telling what his Texas hoops program could have been with even minimal support from the Administration. He is sorely missed by those who knew him.

 

[Braff Zacklin 13665]

Condolences on the loss of one of your teachers and mentors, RGG. He obviously had a powerful and positive influence on your life. 🤘

[shadow_operative 15932]

 

[realgreggym 837]

6 hours ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Condolences on the loss of one of your teachers and mentors, RGG. He obviously had a powerful and positive influence on your life. 🤘

Thanks for the note. He was a good man but tough as nails. He ran a clean program and wouldn't tolerate coaches that didn't. The media didn't like him because he told it like it was. He was definitely underrated as a coach. WE beat UH in the 71-72 playoffs in Las Cruces. If I remember correctly, UH was one of the picks to make it to the final 4 in LA that year.  Robinson literally beat down the 2 UH big men that I believe were both lottery picks in the NBA. That team could have had a run in the playoffs, but injuries were too much to overcome. The next year, we went to Mid-South Coliseum to play Memphis State. They were a national power under Gene Bartow, and we went into their place and beat them. Their team made it to the finals, and it took Walton's 23 out of 24 shots to beat them. I think that was accurate.

Some of my teammates didn't like him very much but I did because I guess he saw some things in me that I didn't, and he gave me a chance. We had a really interesting relationship and I still laugh about some of the things like when I got a package from the A&M Athletic Dept addresses to me. To this day, I can still see the look on his face when he came to practice with the package to give me. 

RIP Coach.

[Harrison Stafford 3341]

 

In the first round of the NCAA playoffs in '72, we beat UH 85-74.  On paper, no way in hell we win that game.  UH player F Dwight Davis was the 3rd overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft and the following season his teammate, C Dwight Jones, was the 9th overall pick in the '73 NBA draft.  For the 1969-70 season, Coach Black asked freshman track athlete Sam Bradley to join the basketball team and Bradley became the first African-American to play for the UT basketball team followed by Jimmy Blacklock and Larry Robinson.  Loved watching games at Gregory Gym.  You never had to worry about finding a seat.  That was in the days when UT had two sports - football and spring football.  

 

 

[realgreggym 837]

50 minutes ago, Harrison Stafford said:

 

In the first round of the NCAA playoffs in '72, we beat UH 85-74.  On paper, no way in hell we win that game.  UH player F Dwight Davis was the 3rd overall pick in the 1972 NBA draft and the following season his teammate, C Dwight Jones, was the 9th overall pick in the '73 NBA draft.  For the 1969-70 season, Coach Black asked freshman track athlete Sam Bradley to join the basketball team and Bradley became the first African-American to play for the UT basketball team followed by Jimmy Blacklock and Larry Robinson.  Loved watching games at Gregory Gym.  You never had to worry about finding a seat.  That was in the days when UT had two sports - football and spring football.  

 

 

Harrison, many thanks for posting that. That was the UH game that I was referring to. If I remember, UH jumped out to something like an 11-point lead. Coach called time out and subbed Larrabee for Blacklock. When we did sprints, Harry was timed with a calendrer but with a ball in his hands, he was as slippery as a greased pig. He and Larry took over the game. To your point about the kids, Gary was a football player that walked on, Blacklock was a JC transfer and Larry was the first to sign a 4-year LOI. When the pigs, dirt burglars or aggys came to Gregory, that place was rocking something big time. I hope Moody will be the same.

Harrison, thanks again. 

[Harrison Stafford 3341]

2 minutes ago, realgreggym said:

Harrison, many thanks for posting that. That was the UH game that I was referring to. If I remember, UH jumped out to something like an 11-point lead. Coach called time out and subbed Larrabee for Blacklock. When we did sprints, Harry was timed with a calendrer but with a ball in his hands, he was as slippery as a greased pig. He and Larry took over the game. To your point about the kids, Gary was a football player that walked on, Blacklock was a JC transfer and Larry was the first to sign a 4-year LOI. When the pigs, dirt burglars or aggys came to Gregory, that place was rocking something big time. I hope Moody will be the same.

Harrison, thanks again. 

I do remember taking my gf to an aggy game at Gregory.  The place was SRO with a crowd of people surrounding the court and, yes, the place was rocking.  I couldn’t believe it!  I was used to walking in a few minutes before tip off and sitting wherever the hell I wanted. The next time we played aggy at home we got there >much< earlier to get actual seats.

[realgreggym 837]

24 minutes ago, Harrison Stafford said:

I do remember taking my gf to an aggy game at Gregory.  The place was SRO with a crowd of people surrounding the court and, yes, the place was rocking.  I couldn’t believe it!  I was used to walking in a few minutes before tip off and sitting wherever the hell I wanted. The next time we played aggy at home we got there >much< earlier to get actual seats.

The fans were great for some of those games. You couldn't hear anything in the huddle, and it was awesome being in the locker room before the game and hearing the crowd and the band. Having said that, there was one game when the weather was absolutely horrible and there was very little parking for those that drove to the game so most stayed home. We had 17 people show up for the game. 17! I know because I counted every one of them. lol Even if everyone in attendance paid for a ticket, it still wasn't enough to pay our meal money after the game. Great memories.