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2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster
Leaky Black
- Height:
- 6-9
- Weight:
- 205
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Concord, N.C.
- High School:
- Cox Mill
CAREER
Played in a UNC-record 155 games and made 130 starts • Passed Deon Thompson for the UNC games played record in his final home game vs. Duke on 3/4/23 • Career highs included 18 points at Florida State 2/27/23 and vs. Wake Forest 1/4/23, 12 rebounds vs. James Madison 11/20/22, six offensive rebounds vs. Duke in the 2022 Final Four and at Notre Dame 2/22/23, nine assists vs. Duke 2/8/20 and four blocks vs. Virginia 2/25/23 • Scored in double figures 19 times • One double-double, 2/4/23 at Duke • Made multiple steals 47 times • Five or more assists 17 times (UNC 15-2 in those games) • Assist/error ratio of 1.9 to 1 (334 assists/174 turnovers) • UNC went 34-5 over the last three seasons when he had three or more assists • One of five Tar Heels to amass 600 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 50 blocks in four or fewer seasons with James Worthy, George Lynch, David Noel and Danny Green.
GRADUATE SEASON (2022-23)
Finalist for CollegeInsider.com’s National Defensive Player of the Year • Earned ACC All-Defensive team honors for the second straight season • Third Tar Heel to make the All-Defensive team twice with Jackie Manuel and John Henson • Second straight season in the top three in voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year (third in 2021-22, second in 2022-23) • Averaged career highs in scoring (7.3) and rebounding (6.5) • Was 10th in the ACC in rebounding average • Grabbed 98 over his last 12 games (8.2 per game), including 34 offensive rebounds • Double-figure rebounds five times (four in his first four seasons) and nine or more 11 times with a high of 12 vs. JMU • Grabbed 10 rebounds at Duke and Wake Forest, the first time in his career he had 10 rebounds in consecutive games • Second on the team in rebounds per game and offensive rebounds (58) • Scored in double figures seven times with a career-high 18 vs. Wake Forest and at Florida State • Made a three-pointer in 18 games and multiple threes six times (season-high three vs. Wake Forest and at Duke and FSU) • Led UNC with a career-high 42 steals • Made 24 of his last 30 free throws (.800) • Committed only 29 turnovers, 1.1 per 40 minutes (best among the starters).
2022-23 Game Highlights: Season-high four assists vs. Boston College in ACC second round • One of his best all-around games as a Tar Heel in the win at Florida State as he tied his career highs with six field goals and 18 points, had nine rebounds and held Darin Green Jr. to 1 of 11 shooting • Made three 3FG in Tallahassee and dunked with 93 seconds to play to help clinch the win • Career-high four blocks in the win over No. 6 Virginia • Tied his career high with six offensive rebounds and had 11 total in the win at Notre Dame • Eight rebounds at NC State, his sixth straight start with seven or more • Had 13 points, a team-high nine rebounds, three steals and two assists vs. Miami (tied his career high with six FGs, was his sixth game scoring in double figures and fourth as UNC’s top rebounder this season) • Sensational lockdown performance in the win over first-place Clemson, holding Hunter Tyson, the Tigers’ leading scorer, to three points on only two field goal attempts and no assists • Allowed just three FG attempts by Clemson players in 52 possessions • First career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds at Duke • Made five field goals (in a season-high 10 attempts), including three 3FGs (entered the game 2 for his last 20 from three) • Second straight game with five offensive rebounds • The 10 field goal attempts at Duke were his most since 12/8/20 at Iowa • Tied his career high with five free throws (in six attempts) vs. NC State • Tied his career high with four steals vs. Boston College • Scored 14 first-half points and finished with a career-high 18 in the win over Wake Forest • Made three 3FGs and a traditional three-point play in the first half • Set his career scoring high with a steal (one of his three) and slam dunk with 14 seconds to play • Had nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals and was a season-best 4 for 4 from the free throw line at Pittsburgh • Played a key role on both ends of the floor in the win over Michigan, scoring nine points (most since the four-OT game vs. Alabama) with 10 rebounds • Jumper in the paint gave UNC a 73-69 lead with 1:45 to play • Made two defensive gems (a block/rebound and a steal) in the final 6:00 to preserve the lead • Was a game-high plus 27 (no other Tar Heel was better than plus-13) in the comeback, OT win over Ohio State • Sideline out of bounds pass to Pete Nance with 1.2 seconds in regulation set up Nance’s game-tying shot • Three-pointer with 3:58 left pulled UNC within a point (was his first three in five games) • Switched over to defend Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino after he scored 12 early points and held the IU guard to two points in the last 28 minutes • Played more than 53 minutes vs. Alabama despite spraining his left ankle in the second half and totaled 10 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals • Was the only Tar Heel to make a three in the four overtimes, which gave UNC a 101-100 lead • Played key defensive role in limiting Tide freshman Brandon Miller to 4 of 21 from the floor • Scored 11 points and added nine rebounds and three assists at Portland • Career-high 12 rebounds, had three assists and played great defense in the win over James Madison • Career-best 6 for 6 from the floor and finished with 15 points, one off his career high, against Charleston.
SENIOR SEASON (2021-22)
ACC All-Defensive team, Carolina’s first since Brice Johnson in 2016 • Third in the voting for ACC Defensive Player of the Year • Carolina’s Defensive Player of the Year (George Lynch Award) • Primary defender in three games vs. ACC Tournament MVP Hunter Cattoor of Virginia Tech (who scored 31 against Duke in final), holding Cattoor to an average of 7.0 points on 5 of 15 threes; vs. Duke’s Paolo Banchero, who scored 13 points in Chapel Hill; vs. Duke’s AJ Griffin, who scored five points in Cameron after scoring 27 in the first game and six points on 1 of 7 shooting in the Final Four; vs. Georgia Tech’s Michael Devoe, who came in as one of the nation’s leading scorers and scored two points; vs. NC State’s Dereon Seabron, who scored two points on 1 of 6 shooting; vs. Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim, who scored 14, five below his ACC-leading average; vs. Marquette’s leading scorer Justin Lewis, whom he held to 2 of 15 FG and six points, 11 below his average; and Saint Peter’s Doug Edert, who was 0 for 5 from the floor.
Career highs in field goal (.466) and free throw percentages (.868) • Led UNC in plus/minus nine times and was plus 302 for the season • Carolina went 17-1 when he had three or more assists • Led UNC in assist/TO ratio (2.8) with 104 assists/37 turnovers • Had 40 assists in the last 10 games • Made 33 of 38 free throws • Scored in double figures four times with a high of 13 in the overtime win at Louisville • Made multiple threes five times with a high of three at Louisville and two in the national semifinals vs. Duke.
2021-22 Game Highlights
Hit two threes, grabbed a career-high six offensive rebounds and again played lockdown defense against AJ Griffin (1 of 7 FG) in the Final Four win over Duke • Set screen to free Caleb Love for key three-pointer with 24 seconds to play • Had five assists, three blocks and two steals and held Doug Edert without a field goal in the regional final win over Saint Peter’s, helping UNC hold the Peacocks to 49 points and 30.0% from the floor • Averaged 6.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists in the two NCAA wins in Fort Worth • Played 40-plus minutes vs. Baylor and helped hold the Bears to 34.6% shooting • Basket with 1:55 to play in overtime gave UNC an 88-85 lead • Had eight assists and held Marquette’s leading scorer, Justin Lewis, to six points in round one • Hit a driving reverse layup to give UNC a 75-71 lead in the win at Duke • Had three assists and helped limit AJ Griffin to five points, 22 fewer than he scored in the Blue Devils’ win in Chapel Hill • Eight points, seven rebounds seven assists, three blocks and held Buddy Boeheim to five points below his average in the OT win over Syracuse • Scored all five of his points after UNC trailed 22-16 (its largest deficit of the game) in the win at Virginia Tech, where he helped limit the Hokies to 5 of 26 from three-point range • Scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including a 3FG with 3:57 to play that gave UNC a 72-68 lead in the win at Clemson • Season-high 13 points in nearly 45 minutes in the OT win at Louisville • Season-best 3 for 3 from three, had four assists without a turnover and played outstanding defense vs. the Cards • Broke an 81-81 tie with a corner three with 2:10 to play in OT that gave Carolina the lead for good • Helped limit NC State’s Dereon Seabron to two points on 1 of 6 shooting and was plus 28 in 100-80 win over NC State • Carolina’s best all-around player in the home win over Boston College as he scored eight points with a game-high five assists, no turnovers and tied his career-best with three blocks • First time in double figures this season with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in home win over Virginia Tech • Made two threes for the first time since he made two vs. the Hokies in the 2021 ACC quarterfinals • Was a plus 23 in 20 minutes in the home win over Georgia Tech • Had four assists, no turnovers and helped limit ACC-leading scorer Michael Devoe to just two points • Tied his season high with nine rebounds against Furman • Helped limit Devoe, who was leading the nation in scoring, to nine points in UNC’s win at Georgia Tech • Exceptional defensive effort vs. Michigan, helping limit Caleb Houstan to 2 of 9 FG and no assists, three turnovers • Game-high +29 vs. the Wolverines • Career-high 11 rebounds (four offensive) and nine points vs. UNC Asheville • Did not play against Purdue due to a non-Covid-related illness.
JUNIOR SEASON (2020-21)
Averaged 5.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists • Second on the team in plus/minus at plus 116 • Second in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio in league games (2.8 on 53 assists/19 turnovers) • Led UNC in assist-error ratio in all games at 1.9 • Had 51 assists and 21 turnovers in UNC’s 18 wins (19/16 in the 11 losses) • Led UNC and was eighth in the ACC with 53 assists in league play (3.3 per game) • Season-high eight assists vs. Wake Forest and seven in the win over Syracuse • Won two defensive player of the game awards (UNLV and NCCU) • Scored in double figures four times (16 at Miami, 12 at Duke, 10 vs. Stanford and 10 at Georgia Tech) • Grabbed 10 rebounds against UNLV and Texas and nine at Iowa and Miami • Led UNC in steals with 36 • Made at least one steal in 24 games and had multiple steals 10 times • UNC went 6-3 when he scored eight points or more, 5-1 when he hit a 3FG and 5-1 when he made at least 50 percent of his shots from the floor
Scored all eight of his points in the second half in the ACC quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech (the most he scored in a game since he had 12 at Duke on 2/6), made two three-pointers (was 1 for 19 from three since he made 4 for 4 at Miami on 1/5) and tied for the team lead with three assists • Three-pointer with 1:30 to play came after VT cut UNC’s lead from 10 to five points • Made the defensive play of the game in the home win over Duke when he blocked Jordan Goldwire’s shot from behind to prevent a breakaway layup • Led UNC with a plus 14 and had seven rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win over Florida State • Seven rebounds, four assists and was plus 19 against Louisville • Played one of his best games as a Tar Heel in the win at Duke – 12 points on 4 of 4 FGs, four assists, two steals, timely baskets, exceptional defense and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 15 seconds to clinch the win • Was plus 16, second-best on the team • Picked up three fouls in the first half, but was plus 9 in just under six minutes as UNC built an early lead • Tied his season high with three steals at Pittsburgh • Played one of his finest all-around games as a Tar Heel against Wake Forest – eight points, six rebounds, eight assists (five in the second half), one turnover and two steals • His assist-turnover of 8/1 was a career best and the best by a Tar Heel all season • Seven assists, including a key one on a drive-and-dish with 1:22 to play that led to a three-point lead, and played exceptional defense in the win over Syracuse • Played all but 90 seconds in the second half and helped hold Buddy Boeheim scoreless in the period • Was a plus nine in the second half and plus 16 for the game vs. the Orange • Career highs in points (16), field goals (six) and three-pointers (four) in the 67-65 win at Miami • Had made three 3FGs in the first 10 games, then went 4 for 4 vs. the Hurricanes • Three-pointer with 1:42 to play gave UNC a 63-61 lead • Banked in the go-ahead and game-winning shot with 9.1 seconds to play in the 66-65 win over Notre Dame • Tied his career high with five field goals at Georgia Tech • Season-best 5 for 7 (.714) from the floor in Atlanta • Nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals at Iowa • Tied his previous career high of 10 rebounds against both UNLV and Texas • Had eight points, 10 boards and two assists vs. the Longhorns – made two free throws with 25 seconds to play to tie the game at 67 • Driving layup with 1:02 to play gave UNC a 66-63 lead in the win over Stanford • Tied his career high with 10 rebounds (four offensive) and sparked UNC’s defensive effort in win over UNLV • Won his first defensive player of the game the season and the third of his career for his efforts, primarily for defending Bryce Hamilton, in the win over UNLV • Held Vegas’s leading scorer without a point for nearly 14 minutes mid-game as UNC went from trailing by three to leading by 19.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019-20)
Averaged 6.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists • Started 31 games – 25 at small forward and six (Clemson through Boston College) at the point • Led the team with 40 steals and was second in assists with 83 • Scored in double figures four times with a career-high 14 points against Syracuse in the ACC Tournament, three 3FGs at Virginia Tech, 10 rebounds at Notre Dame and nine assists at home vs. Duke • Played 30 or more minutes 15 times and 40-plus twice.
2019-20 Game Highlights: Tied his career high with five field goals in 10 attempts and scored a career-best 14 in the season finale vs. Syracuse • Had four assists and no turnovers in ACC Tournament win over Virginia Tech • Nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks in the win over Wake Forest • Eight points and six assists in the win at Syracuse • Nine points, career-high 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals at Notre Dame • Eight points, seven rebounds and career-best nine assists vs. Duke • Career-high five field goals and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the win at NC State • Tied his then-career-high with six assists vs. Miami • Scored in double figures for the first time as a Tar Heel when he scored 12 points on 3 for 6 shooting from three in the double overtime loss at Virginia Tech • Played 47 minutes in Blacksburg • Career-high four steals at Pitt • Started at the point for the first time vs. Clemson and had five assists in 41 minutes • Was 4 for 7 from the floor against Georgia Tech, the first time this season he shot better than 50 percent in a game • Hit a three to tie the game after Yale took its largest lead of the second half • Made a key jumper after UCLA had closed to within four points • Nine points and nine rebounds in the win over Alabama • Scored all nine of his points against the Tide in the second half • Made two three-pointers vs. Elon, the first multi-three game of his career, and won his second career defensive player of the game award (first was last year vs. Harvard) • Suffered a severe turf toe on his right foot early in the second half of the Michigan game (11/28/19) and did not return to that game for the final 11 minutes • Started against Oregon but came out of the game after eight minutes and did not return • Did not play against Wofford on 12/15/19 due to the turf toe.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2018-19)
Averaged 2.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 10.3 minutes per game • Made 23 of 49 shots from the floor (.469), including 5 for 12 from three-point range (.417) • Had eight rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes in the three NCAA Tournament games • Sprained his left ankle in the Georgia Tech game on 1/29 and did not play in the next 13 games • Returned to practice on 3/11 and played vs. Iona for the first time since January • Made a three-pointer as part of UNC’s 20-0 run over Virginia Tech • Played valuable minutes and was on the floor for his defense in the latter stages of the win at NC State • Five rebounds and four assists in ACC opener at Pitt • Five points, two assists, two steals and was Carolina’s defensive player of the game vs. Harvard • Steal and dunk in the Gonzaga win • Had five points, two assists and no turnovers in a season-high 18 minutes against UCLA • Was 4 for 4 from the floor against Stanford • Tied for the team lead with five assists and added eight points, six rebounds and no turnovers in 15 minutes at Elon.
PREP
Played for coach Jody Barbee at Cox Mill High School in Concord as a senior • Played his first two seasons at Concord High School and his junior year at Montverde Academy • Played for coaches George Walker and Jason Stowe at Concord and Kevin Boyle at Montverde • Averaged 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals and was the team’s defensive MVP in leading Cox Mill to the 2018 3-A state championship • Cox Mill went 29-3, was ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 21 in the nation • Earned first-team all-state, all-district and all-conference honors in 2018 • Played in the 2018 Carolina Classics All-Star Game and the East-West All-Star Game • 2017 Beach Ball Classic All-Tournament selection • Named a MaxPreps All-America as a sophomore • Teammate of Tar Heel freshman Coby White on Team CP3 in the Nike EYBL • Also played quarterback on his youth football team.
PERSONAL
Born Rechon Malik Black on June 14, 1999, in Concord • Son of Chon and Carla Black • Given the nickname “Leaky” by his grandmother, due to his middle name, Malik • Graduated from UNC in May of 2022 with a degree in exercise and sport science in the sport administration program.
