Lucas: Nowhere To Hide

By Adam Lucas

TALLAHASSEE—Unfortunately for him, there's no way Leaky Black is going to avoid attention after this one.

The fifth-year Tar Heel loathes interviews or any sort of spotlight. It's why it has always worked that the strongest part of his game is his defense, where he can be largely unnoticed. Let the other guys score the points and make the flashy plays. Black is completely content contributing in ways that the coaches see but few others notice.

But after Monday night's win, we have to talk about him. He's in the all-time record books, for one. Deon Thompson had been the Carolina all-time leader with 152 career games played. Black joined him with his 152^nd game in the 77-66 win over Florida State.

Halfway around the world, Thompson watched Black tie him. It took a pandemic to enable someone to play enough games to equal Thompson, but it felt fitting to ask the Carolina big man—who watched the win over FSU from Korea, where he is in his 13^th season of professional basketball—what he likes about watching his temporary co-leader play.

"With Leaky, you have to love his defense," Thompson said. "That's something you can't teach. He has true instinct on the defensive end. He knows how to play the passing lanes for steals, he gets timely blocks and he's a great one on one defender. And when he shoots the three ball like he did tonight, I think he has a real chance at the NBA level to be one of those three and D guys that every NBA team has and needs.

"He's been in school for a long time. But it really speaks to his toughness and to being there when his team needs him, just like tonight."

And there's the story of Leaky Black's Carolina career…and in many ways, also the story of Monday night's game. Most of his reputation is built on defense, and he did it again against the Seminoles. Darin Green Jr. came into the game as one of the best shooters in the ACC, but after getting a heavy dose of Black's defense, he finished 1-for-11 from the field, 1-for-7 from the three-point line, and had two turnovers.

"The job he did on Green was outstanding," Hubert Davis told Jones Angell on the Tar Heel Sports Network. "Green is one of the better shooters in the country. His ability to come off screens and move without the basketball is fantastic. Leaky did an outstanding job on him."

Here's the wrinkle: as he approaches his second farewell game at the Smith Center—Black was honored last year, but then decided to return—he's putting up box score numbers as gaudy as any time in his career. The Concord native tied his career high with 18 points against the 'Noles (and needed just eight shots to do it), and had nine rebounds to go with his three assists. It's the sixth time in the past nine games he grabbed at least nine boards.

In 143 career games prior to this stretch, he'd secured at least nine rebounds only 12 times. Now he's done it six out of the last nine, half of his previous career total in a month. You think he's feeling a little urgency as the end of a half-decade Tar Heel career approaches?

"I'm trying to use my length," he said on the THSN. "I am trying to be effective and stuff the stat sheet however I can to help us get a win."

Even on a night when his statistical contributions were significant, he also found a way to help his team win apart from the box score. In a late timeout, he sensed the Tar Heels were a little rattled. Florida State had closed to within four points. The crowd—and perhaps the Seminoles—could feel another miraculous comeback just like the one they had against Miami 48 hours ago.

Vocal leadership doesn't come easily to Black, who despite his experience does not always want to be the one to speak up. This time, though, he looked around the huddle and admonished his teammates.

"I can't really repeat exactly what I said," he said with a grin. "But the idea was to be strong with the ball…I was just trying to relax everyone. I wanted everyone to calm down."

Coming out of the timeout, he backed up his leadership. Still ahead by just four points, he got the ball on the wing and immediately acted decisively, athletically and authoritatively. A pump fake got Matthew Cleveland in the air. A path opened to the basket.

This is where Black might have deferred to a teammate earlier in his career. Not on this night. He swooped aggressively to the rim, where De'Ante Green was the collateral damage as Black finished the play with a physical, two-handed dunk. It was exactly the kind of play you want your fifth-year senior to make in that situation, the kind of winning play that effectively determines the outcome instead of waiting for someone else to take control. As Eric Montross said after the game, speaking for all of us: "I could have hugged him after that play."

"As soon as Cleveland jumped in the air, I knew I would have to get on the rim," Black said. "They are pretty big down low."

Not big enough. Black's recent three-point success—he was 3-for-4 from the arc against FSU—forced the 'Noles to respect the pump fake. Then he turned the play over to his instincts and his athleticism, and it was more than enough to seal the win. How many times have you wanted him to "get on the rim"? Monday night, he did it.

After the game, Black was looking for a spot to do his postgame radio interview on the Tar Heel Sports Network. He slid through a busy Tucker Center back hallway and then spotted exactly what he wanted: a quiet, nondescript corner well out of the way.

"Let's go over there," he said. "You know I'm shy."

Sorry, Leaky. There's no hiding this one.

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