Willetton community everything for 250-gamer Black

He's continuing on his famous family legacy and maintaining the strong Willetton Tigers culture as he approaches his 250th game, but for Andrew Black he's never enjoyed his basketball more and is hoping it could all lead to that elusive NBL1 West championship.

There are very few families to have had the impact on Australian and Western Australian basketball than the Blacks have had, but it's at Willetton where their influence has been everlasting and Andrew couldn’t be prouder to be continuing that on.

With a father and brother who both played and coached with Willetton, with dad Alan also an NBL championship winning coach and brother Stephen having had his own glittering 298-game NBL career including a championship with the Brisbane Bullets, and basketball was always in Andrew's blood.

Meaning of the milestone

However, it's not just basketball but that connection to Willetton that has been with him his whole life. That's why it means so much to him to be preparing to celebrate his 250th game with the Tigers this weekend in an NBL1 West double-header for his 5-1 team.

"It really does mean quite a bit especially because all 250 have been with Willetton," Black said.

"That's what makes it real special for me just because of what the community and club means to me and my family. This particular milestone has always been a big goal of mine to get to the 250 and it's just a special thing and I feel awfully grateful to get to this point more than anything."

Hiccup last week

The Tigers captain was set to celebrate his 250th game milestone last Friday night against the Perth Redbacks, but he was then struck down with COVID mid-week and that ruled him out of the eventual 100-76 win for Willetton.

However, he's good to go now this weekend with Willetton to take on the Joondalup Wolves on the road on Friday night followed up with a clash with the winless yet supremely talented East Perth Eagles at Willetton Basketball Stadium on Saturday.

That's where Black's 250-game milestone will be celebrated on his home floor and he couldn’t be prouder to got there in the end.

"It's been a bit funny because I would have got to 250 a lot earlier if it wasn’t for COVID as well with the couple of interrupted years we had, but it was just another hurdle before getting there that I had last week but I'm feeling all good now," he said. 

"I'm now looking forward to this weekend and we've got a couple of interesting games, and the league is just so good now where there's no lulls in the season and every game is a good contest.

"They are going to be two really good tests for us. If you look at that East Perth team, they've got some serious talent and are a much better than an 0-6 team that we'll be taking on."

The desire for that elusive championship

While both Andrew's dad and brother achieved the ultimate success with NBL championships, it was that elusive SBL and now NBL1 West title in the men's competition that has continued to elude them.

Stephen starred in the 2002 SBL Grand Final to be named MVP but ultimately Willetton lost to the Perry Lakes Hawks and the lone men's championship for the Tigers was in 2010 with Daniel Johnson and Cam Tovey the stars, and Shayne Hempel the coach.

Both Alan and Steve tried their darndest to lead Willetton to a championship as coaches too including the 2017 team that Andrew was part of with his brother as coach where they were regular season champions before falling afoul of the rampaging Perth Redbacks in the semi finals.

That championship pursuit has been a family affair for a lot of the entire existence of Willetton playing in the competition since the SBL was formed in 1989, and above everything else it's what keeps Andrew motivated to keep going in chase of that dream.

"Ultimately what we strive for and what we play for is to have that success. We've had so many close opportunities throughout my career and I suppose that talks to how difficult it is to get there," Black said. 

"But that's why you put yourselves through those morning sessions, and all the time and effort year after year to strive for that championship. It's all about putting yourself in good positions to get there, and hoping it all clicks one year."

While Black has been part of strong teams in his career at Willetton that started back in 2012 and that 2017 team with Ray Turner, Jay Bowie, Damien Scott, Kyle Armour, Nic Cody, Hayden Noordhoek and himself was tremendous, this 2023 might be his best chance at that title.

With the additions of Darnell Hoskins Jr, Gorjok Gak and Mark Worthington coming out of retirement, and himself, Scott, Michael Vigor and Hunter Clarke still on deck under the coaching of Adam Nener, he sees no reason to not think this could be the year.

"We had a very good team back in 2017 and this team is probably the one that comes closest to matching that," he said. 

"We certainly have the talent and with the pieces that we've put together, I do think that we're in as good a position as anyone to come away with it but we also know how difficult that would be. 

"We still have lots of work to do to get to that point, and we know that. That's the best part about it that we continually talk about that we're building and even though we are 5-1 now, we know that our best basketball is still ahead of us. We're just still building week after week."

Continuing the Black family legacy

While both Alan and Stephen did amazing things on the national stage, it's at Willetton where the Black family have been hugely influential in the club becoming one of the strongest in the country terms of the junior and development program, participation levels, and creating future WNBL and NBL stars.

The Willetton program is the envy of most around the country and even today his parents remain heavily involved while his brother Steve is coaching in the NBL1 South at the Bendigo Braves.

Having grown up with the Willetton culture in his veins, Black now can't be prouder to have spent a lifetime playing at the club and having seen such a transformation in that time to be playing in the spanking new stadium.

"I love how involved my parents still are. They bring such passion and energy so it was always going to come down to me from them and my brother just through sheer osmosis from being around them all the time," Black said. 

"Now I've got my fiancée who comes to the games and she's gone from when we first met where the feedback after the first game was that I ran really nice and looked quite good. 

"But now I'll come home and she might talk about that back cut that I missed in the second quarter or critique my game. 

"Just knowing how important it's all been to our family, I look back to the high levels that Steve and dad played at, and I think that the joy for them was never more apparent than at Willetton. 

"They went to higher heights obviously, but that real sense of joy and fun, and the connection they have always had with Willetton is what really stuck with me."

This Willetton team of 2023

While that's all big picture talk of Black's lifetime involvement with Willetton, to more immediate matters of this 2023 team and he's never enjoyed a season more than he is enjoying this one so far for so many reasons.

"This team is awfully exciting to be part of. We've got so many different weapons and skill sets that it's a joy to be around these particular guys as well," he said. 

"You saw what DJ did in the game last week and that's the sort of thing he can do, and then you've got Gorjok in the middle and all our other guys do a really good job. 

"We have such a good grasp of knowing what our role is and what our job is out there so it makes life a lot easier when you're in a group like that. I'm hugely enjoying the year so far."

Calling Wortho a teammate

Black has achieved plenty in his playing career and come across a host of big-time players that he's called teammates and opponents, but even he was a little blown away when he found out he'd be calling Mark Worthington a teammate in 2023.

The 335-game NBL veteran and championship winner, and two-time Olympian has stepped back out of retirement and is playing tremendously. That doesn’t surprise Black and nor does the leadership and experience he's providing.

However, what Worthington has brought in terms of his infectious joy from being part of a team again is something that has surpassed all Black's expectations.

"Mate, I'm just happy that we've got someone on the team that's up there in age because we've got so many young guys so it makes me feel like spritely still to have a 40-year-old on the team," Black said. 

"That's why I was happy, but seriously the leadership he gives us was pretty evident from day one. Bringing a guy like that in just raises the level of communication and level of buy in that everyone has, and just brings that professionalism to the club almost immediately. 

"But I think the best thing that was really evident was his hunger to be around that team environment again. He really came in with a real joy to be part of a team again and that is quite infectious for the rest of us."

What the Willetton community means to him

While the additions of Gak, Hoskins and Worthington have been significant on the way Willetton has started this season with five straight wins now after a first up loss to Rockingham, it's maintaining that culture that is crucial for Black.

The fact that they can bring in such brilliant talent while maintaining long-time Willetton players like himself, Damien Scott who has been there now since 2015 along with 164-game veteran Michael Collins and to even be coached by former player Adam Nener is something he sees as super important.

"For me this milestone just shows that it's hugely important to me to keep quality guys around the club," he said. 

"Having Scotty having around our club for as long as we have now is a huge testament, and the guy is so exciting and he brings so much energy to our trainings and games. He has been so important to our group over however many years he's been here. 

"Then you have our next wave of leaders like Mikey Collins, Trav Fee, Mike Garbellini and those sort of guys who are the future of our community. 

"I like to talk about Willetton as a community because that's how it feels and those guys will be the ones who lead the next group of young men who will learn off them about what it's all about. It's hugely important we maintain that culture and I'm really happy that we're able to keep our Willetton guys.

At the end of the day, while Black enjoys the basketball he gets to play at Willetton and would cherish a championship, it's the lifelong bonds he has formed with so many people at the club that has influenced so much of his life that make it so important.

"When I think about my own story of being about to play 250 games at Willetton and I've got to play that whole time with my best friends," Black added.

"I've got multiple opportunities professionally from the relationships that I've built in the community at the club and the things that it has given me, I couldn’t ever possibly give back or at least I'll do my best to. 

"That's why it's so special and so important because a club like ours provides such a good, strong sense of community and it's so important for everyone involved."