Debbie Black

Debbie Black (born July 29, 1966)^[1] is an American women's basketball former player and current coach. During her professional career, Black played for the Women's National Basketball League in Australia, the American Basketball League and the Women's National Basketball Association. She retired from the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA in 2005.^[2] Black was an assistant coach for the Ohio State University before being named the head coach of the Eastern Illinois University Women's Basketball team on May 16, 2013, in which position she continued until 2017.^[3]

Debbie Black

Personal information
Born	(1966-07-29) July 29, 1966 (age 57) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Nationality	American
Listed height	5 ft 2.5 in (1.59 m)
Listed weight	124 lb (56 kg)
Career information
High school	Archbishop Wood (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
College	Saint Joseph's (1984–1988)
WNBA draft	1999: 2nd round, 15th overall pick
Selected by the Utah Starzz
Playing career	1988–2004
Position	Point guard
Number	31, 24
Coaching career	1999–present
Career history
As player:
1988–1996	Tasmanian Islanders
1996–1998	Colorado Xplosion
1999	Utah Starzz
2000–2002	Miami Sol
2003–2004	Connecticut Sun
As coach:
1999–2000	Vanderbilt (Assistant)
2005–2013	Ohio State (Assistant)
2013–2017	Eastern Illinois
2017–2018	Chattanooga (Director of Operations)
2018–2021	Chattanooga (Assistant)
Medals Competitor for  United States women's national basketball team Jones Cup 1985 Taipei Team Competition

College years

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Black is a 1984 graduate of Philadelphia's Archbishop Wood High School. Black played for Jim Foster (basketball) at St. Joseph's University and graduated in 1988. While there she helped lead the Hawks to two Philadelphia Big 5 championships and an Atlantic 10 Conference title. A multi-sport athlete, Black earned 12 varsity letters in basketball, field hockey, and softball.^[4]

USA Basketball

Black was named to the team representing the USA at the William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan. The USA team had a 7–1 record and won the gold medal in a close final against Japan, winning 56–54. Black had 8 rebounds and 3 steals in the competition.^[5]

WNBL career

Black played eight seasons with the Tasmanian Islanders (1989–96) of the WNBL in Australia. She helped the team win national titles in 1991 and 1995 before leaving to go to the ABL.^[6]

ABL career

Black played for the Colorado Xplosion and was also an All-Star selection for the ABL. Black is the only professional female basketball player to have accomplished, and is one of very few basketball players (male or female) ever to accomplish a quadruple double (10 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists, 10 steals); she accomplished this feat against the Atlanta Glory on Dec. 8, 1996. She received Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1997.^[6]

WNBA career

Black was drafted 15th overall by the Utah Starzz in 2nd round of the 1999 WNBA draft. She then played for the Miami Sol from 2000 to 2002. While playing for the Sol, she earned the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award at the age of 35. In 2003, Black was acquired by the Connecticut Sun during the dispersal draft. She played for the Sun until her retirement in 2005.^[6]

Throughout Black's basketball career, her energy, intensity, and toughness were well-known among her teammates and opponents alike. Her relentless defense earned her the nickname "The Pest."^[7] At 5' 2.5", she was the shortest player in the WNBA, just half an inch shorter than Los Angeles Sparks point guard Shannon Bobbitt and just edging out Temeka Johnson. She is a half inch shorter than the shortest NBA player in history, Muggsy Bogues.^[8] During 1999 she played on the Utah Starzz with the tallest WNBA player, 7'2" Małgorzata Dydek.

Coaching career

Black entered the coaching ranks as an assistant to her college coach, Jim Foster at Vanderbilt in 1999-2000, with the team advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament. She rejoined Foster at Ohio State in 2005. Her eight seasons there saw the Buckeyes make seven trips to the NCAA Tournament as she worked as a recruiter and specialist in developing guards. Several guards went on to play professionally in the WNBA or overseas.^[9] On May 16, 2013, Black was named the head coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers.^[2] On March 7, 2017, Black's contract was not renewed as head coach of EIU.^[2] She endured budget cuts and layoffs during her time as coach and the university did not receive state funds for over a year.^[10] There were rumors of the school closing, but on June 6, 2016, President David Glassman sent a letter to the campus community stating the school will not close and that further cuts may come.^[11] Through all of this she managed to increase the number of wins the team had in her final season. Most recently she was an assistant coach at University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

Coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Eastern Illinois Panthers (Ohio Valley Conference) (2013–2017)
2013–14	Eastern Illinois	12–16	7–9	T-2nd West	OVC Tournament
2014–15	Eastern Illinois	10–20	7–9	t-7th	OVC Tournament
2015–16	Eastern Illinois	3–25	2–14	12th
2016–17	Eastern Illinois	9–19	5–11	12th
Eastern Illinois Panthers (Ohio Valley Conference) (2013–2017)
Eastern Illinois:		34–80	21-43
Total:		34–80
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Playing stats

St. Joseph's University

At graduation:

• All-time career leader in assists (718)
• All-time career leader in steals (572)
• All-Atlantic 10 Conference, First Team, 1988
• All-District, First Team, 1988
• All-League, Second-team, 1986
• All-Rookie team, 1985.
• Inducted into the St. Joseph's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000^[6]
• Inducted into the Philadelphia Big Five Hall of Fame, 1995^[6]
• Inducted into the St. Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame, 1994^[6]
• Inducted into the Bucks County chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, 2010^[6][12]

Professional

At retirement:

• WNBA - 8th in career steals (315)
• WNBA - 10th in career assists (612)
• WNBA - 1st in career steal-to-turnover ratio
• WNBA - 4th in career steals per game (2.26)
• WNBA - Defensive Player of the Year, 2001
• ABL - All-time leader in steals (330)
• ABL - 2nd all-time in assists (608)
• ABL - Defensive Player of the Year, 1997

References

1. "Women's Basketball Coaches Career". NCAA. Retrieved 30 Sep 2015.
2. Eastern Illinois University – Debbie Black Named EIU Women's Basketball Coach
3. . Archived from the original on 2017-03-09. Retrieved 2017-03-08.
4. "2011-12 Saint Joseph's University Women's Basketball Media Guide". Issuu.
5. . USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
6. Greenberg, Mel (November 9, 2012). "Debbie Black: "Never Missed A Game Or Practice In My 30 Years"". Womhoops Guru. Retrieved 10 Jun 2013.
7. NOT A SHORT STORY AT ALL, Philadelphia Inquirer
8. Staff, S. I. "Inch by Inch: The Alltime, All-Size All-Stars". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com.
9. (PDF). 2012–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-08.
10. "The Daily Eastern News".
11. [e-mail], JARAD JARMON. "EIU president: University not closing; further cuts may come". pantagraph.com.
12. "2010 Honorees". Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 Jun 2013.

External links

• Ohio State University (OSU) Women's Basketball
• Black's bio on OSU's site
• Retirement announcement
• WNBA chat transcript
• WNBA
• ABL
• Final ABL standings and more ABL information links
• Daily Eastern News
• President Glassman