Back where he belongs
Jenny Dial Creech writes that Tarik Black’s return to Houston is a great fit for the center as well as the team.
Tarik Black walked off the gym floor after a tough workout. He was still processing what had just happened.
He had played several games of one-on-one with Dwight Howard.
Hakeem Olajuwon gave him pointers from the sideline.
Kevin McHale watched, providing occasional instruction.
Black, undrafted and hoping for a chance in the NBA, was taking it all in.
He was in camp with Rockets and three of the league’s top big men were working side by side with him.
“It was crazy,” Black said. “I just tried to soak it all in.”
That was the beginning of the 2014 season. Black defied the odds and made the team that year. He was waived in December and picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers.
This summer, he once again signed with the Rockets.
A new beginning
And although it has only been three years, Black is in a far different place. A better one. His growth as a player and as a person make him one of the most intriguing signings the team made this offseason.
“I’ve come a long way since then,” Black said. “I have a lot to offer, and I am really excited to be back where it started and to get to work.”
When Black arrived in Houston three years ago, he wasn’t sure what would happen. He was grateful for a chance after going undrafted and feeling unnoticed.
A man who leans heavily on his Christian faith, Black decided to give it all he had and leave with no regrets. His intensity, work ethic and skill were apparent from the start. He wasn’t a likely candidate to make the team, but with every practice his stock went up a little more.
Before long, other players were waived and Black remained.
“He works hard,” McHale said during 2014 camp. “He’s tough, he fights for it. I like him.”
Black, who played his final season of college basketball at Kansas (after three years at Memphis) said he really didn’t know what to expect.
“I hoped I would do well,” he said. “But I wasn’t a guy anyone was talking about. I wasn’t in any mock drafts. I was lucky to even have a chance.”
Black made the Rockets’ roster and played in 25 games. He even earned a starting spot for 12 of those. He averaged about five points and five rebounds.
Different with Lakers
After he was waived in December, he was picked up by the Lakers.
The team was different, the situation was different and Black was ready for a new challenge. “In Houston when I started out, it was all new to me, and I was always trying to play for someone else,” he said. “I wanted to impress James (Harden) and Coach McHale. I thought about that a lot.”
By the end of the season in Los Angeles, that had changed.
“I turned a corner,” Black said. “I was more confident, and I started to worry less about impressing everyone and more about just filling my role and helping the team.”
His stats took a jump with the new outlook.
“It was part of maturing and growing into this league,” he said.
Black’s life has changed a lot since he left Houston in December 2014.
He is married and expecting his first child. He has been through highs and lows with the Lakers — a team that has worked to improve since he got there but has been riddled with injuries.
“It’s a little more intense there,” Black said. “There’s always a microscope on the Lakers. I enjoyed my time there, but I’m happy to get back to Houston, where it’s more grounded. It’s a good fit.”
Black has matured, but he is the same guy. He still is known for his work ethic, for his unwavering faith and for being a great locker room guy.
His teammates and coaches like being around him.
A lot has changed in Houston since Black’s departure.
McHale is no longer the coach, and Howard plays for Charlotte now.
The Rockets are one of the hottest teams in the league thanks to the offseason trade for Chris Paul that paired the point guard with superstar Harden. Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni and Sixth Man of the Year Eric Gordon are staples on the team but new to Black.
“This is a great team with so many pieces in place,” Black said. “I look at this roster and I see exactly how I fit in.”
Adds toughness
Black brings more toughness to a team that has added a good amount this summer with Paul and P.J. Tucker.
He looks at the lineup, the big men he will join and can’t contain the excitement: Nene, Clint Capela, Tucker, Luc Mbah a Moute, Zhou Xi.
“We are going to be good,” Black said. “The first and the second unit. I can see how it can all work, and it’s going to be great.”
It has been awhile since Black played in a Rockets uniform. But things have come full circle, and he is more impressive now than he was when he turned heads in 2014. Black is back. And the Rockets will be better for it.