Jimmy Black (basketball)


Jimmy Black is an American former college basketball player and assistant coach. He was the starting point guard and a captain of the 1981–82 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team.

College career

Black played in the NCAA Tournament all four years at UNC. As the playmaker on the 1981-82 championship team, he was responsible for directing the ball to teammates James Worthy, Sam Perkins and freshman swingman Michael Jordan. Black had a close relationship with coach Dean Smith.
Black's mother died during his sophomore season at UNC.

1981-82 season

Prior to the 1982 tournament, Black called a special team meeting, a sort of pep rally, to pump up the team, focusing on Dean Smith's six Final Four appearances without a title. During the tournament, Black was named to the East Regional All-Star Team with averages of 11.3 points on 88% shooting from the field to go with 6.7 assists in three games.
In the national semifinal, Black guarded the University of Houston's Rob Williams so well that he did not score a field goal.
In the national championship game, Black had 4 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in 38 minutes, including the pass to Michael Jordan for the game-winning shot.

College statistics

After college

Black was the 59th pick in the 1982 NBA Draft, but he did not play in the NBA.
After his playing days, Black worked as a graduate assistant at UNC in the 1983-84 season, and then as an assistant coach at several colleges: Saint Joseph's, South Carolina and Notre Dame. In 1995, Black resigned from his position at Notre Dame and was replaced by Parker Laketa.

Personal life

In 1995, Black was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge for purportedly striking his fiancée on the leg on December 13, 1994. This followed previous incidents, including an October 1994 police report in which Black's fiancée was treated at a hospital for a black eye and other injuries.