Leron Black’s Illini pride still runs deep. The former Illinois forward played four seasons in Champaign, tallying 921 points and 529 rebounds from 2014 to 2018. His favorite memory of his collegiate career is about as Illini as it gets: an undefeated streak in one of the most iconic and Illinois rivalry matchups ever.
“Going undefeated in the Braggin’ Rights game,” Black said. “All four of them, but obviously the one where I proposed to my wife (after) now is probably my favorite one.”
Unfortunately for Illini fans who enjoyed watching Black play on the hardwood, those days are now over. After forgoing his final season of college eligibility to turn pro, Black spent three years playing for multiple pro teams in South America and Mexico. Despite the journey being rewarding from a life experience standpoint, Black said that it was tough being away for up to six months at a time, especially from his family. By 2021, he was ready for a new chapter.
Black returned to the United States and turned the page on his playing career, but he ended up staying in the basketball world. Black made the decision to switch out his spot on the court for a seat on the bench. Coaching became his new call, and Black, at just 25 years old, would now have a hand in developing players just a few years younger than himself.
His first coaching position came at Dayton as a graduate assistant ahead of the 2021-22 season. That job, however, did not come from just anywhere. An old Illini connection brought Black into the coaching world.
“Honestly, it was my old coach at Illinois, Darren Hertz,” Black said. “He was at the University of Dayton and called me about a graduate assistant position. And he told me he thought I’d be great. And I took it.”
Hertz, now the head coach at Wittenberg University, was an assistant coach at Dayton in 2021, having joined the program back in 2017 after two years at Illinois as special assistant to the head coach. Hertz was in Champaign for the middle two seasons of Black’s Illini career, and that relationship set Black on his current path.
Black had not coached before, so the new role came with a learning curve, mainly in terms of how one needed to approach the game. Over his two years at Dayton, Black was able to adjust from being a player to helping maximize the potential of other players.
“(I learned) just the difference between player and coach,” Black said. “The way you look at the game, how much film study you have to do, the importance of really focusing on film and really dissecting the game. That’s probably the biggest thing. And then just learn that as a player, a lot of times everything revolves around you. As a coach, it’s the opposite.”
So far, Black’ s change in career has been nothing but positive. An early end to a professional journey was the early start to what now looks to be a very promising coaching career. After two seasons as a graduate assistant for the Flyers, Black was slated to serve as the video coordinator for the program after being named to the position in the summer of 2023. However, that was short lived, as Black soon received an opportunity to head to the pros.
The Rip City Remix, the NBA G League affiliate of the Portland Trail Blazers came calling, and Black joined the team as the director of video. The next season, he was promoted to assistant coach. The G League grind has been well documented for players, but young coaches trying to get their careers going also have to go through the tough conditions of minor league life. Everyone is trying to prove themselves, but the ability to learn and grow together also proves extremely valuable.
“It’s definitely a grind for the coaches, too,” Black said. “You know, the commercial flights … But I will say you grow to love everybody. You spend so much time together. It’s a lot of fun just connecting and going through the grind together … It’s been great. I love it.”
Now just four years into his coaching career and after two seasons with Rip City in the G League, Black got the opportunity he had been waiting for. The Portland Trail Blazers announced in early June that Black was getting a promotion. No longer would he be coaching in small, sometimes empty, venues and living the day-to-day grind of G League life.
Instead, he would have the opportunity to coach one of the most promising young rosters in the NBA, be in packed arenas every night and travel with the luxuries that an NBA team provides. Black was named as a player development coach for Portland, and this fall, he will make his debut on an NBA bench.
The Trailblazers have multiple young stars, such as Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, 2025 first round draft pick Yang Hansen and many others. Combine that with a championship winning veteran guard in Jrue Holiday, the return of Portland legend Damian Lillard and having former NBA All-Star and NBA champion Chauncey Billups as head coach, and Black is in an ideal situation. He will have the opportunity to make a substantial impact on the next wave of NBA talent while also being able to learn from those who have already achieved at the highest level in the league.
Black is more than excited to get going. He spent the 2025 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas as an assistant on the Portland bench, and now, he is looking forward to getting to work with the big league roster in the Pacific Northwest. And of course, he cannot wait to see all of the new talent his alma mater has sent to the highest level over the last few years.
“Just (looking forward to) getting my feet wet,” Black said. “Just getting my first opportunity to be with an NBA team, and I’m looking forward to seeing the Illinois guys this year. You got Ayo (Dosunmu), Terrence Shannon, all the Illinois guys I can see this year.”
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