Former UNC star Leaky Black relishing NBA chance with Charlotte Hornets

Leaky Black was discussing his summer league debut as a member of the Charlotte Hornets, explaining the areas of improvement he wants to focus on, when Brandon Miller walked by.

“Hey Leaky Black,” said Miller, the Hornets’ top selection in last month’s draft. “How’s it going?”

Black rolled his eyes and smirked.

“This dude,” Black said.

If anyone told Black eight months ago, during his graduate season at North Carolina, that he’d be teammates with Miller in July, playing in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League for his hometown pro franchise, more than likely a hearty belly laugh would have ensued. That’s because the “Lockdown Leaky” moniker the Concord native earned among Tar Heels fans was in full effect during North Carolina’s matchup against Alabama in November.

Black earned the responsibility of guarding Miller and pestered him well enough to help limit Miller to a 4-of-21 performance, easily one of the toughest shooting displays of his lone season with the Crimson Tide. Now, with Miller being the first collegian taken off the board behind French phenom Victor Wembanyama and Black agreeing to a two-way contract with Charlotte after going undrafted, the two are on the same side.

“It’s crazy because I get to see how talented of a player that he really is up close,” Black said. “It’s fun. He’s obviously the No. 2 pick. He’s going to be a hell of a player, and I’m just psyched to be his teammate for real.”

They can trade notes if they want, share techniques and tendencies. At 23, Black has about three years on Miller and probably could have an encyclopedia-sized binder filled with all the things he picked up during his five seasons in Chapel Hill.

Grinding it out in the ACC and logging more than 4,100 career minutes in 155 games in nearly a half-decade is a pretty good precursor to Black. He’s sure it prepared him for this moment.

“Honestly, just being mentally tough,” Black said. “At this stage of the NBA, you just have to be mentally tough, everybody is skilled, everybody can play, everyone is a great player. People who are mentally tapped in, those are the guys who really excel, and I’m just trying to learn everything I can, pick up on every little niche that I can.”

Black is learning the ins and outs of three positions with the Hornets. He’s slowly becoming more acclimated with the game, the system they run under coach Steve Clifford and also in Greensboro with the G League Swarm, and the specific in-game plays.

“I don’t know if we can pigeonhole him to a position per se,” said Hornets assistant Marlon Garnett, who’s also serving as Charlotte’s summer league coach. “We are kind of seeing what he can do. He’s working on his shot a little bit and I don’t know if you’d consider him more of a stretch ‘4’ being able to shoot it at the ‘4’ position based on his size.

“Playing the ‘3’ position from the defensive end, I think he has some upside. He can guard some ‘2s’ and obviously guard some ‘3s,’ and who knows certain lineups he’ll be able to guard some ‘4s’ as well. So, I think his potential as a versatile kind of small forward gives him a lot of upside for his future.”

Against San Antonio on Monday night, Black logged the second-most minutes of any reserve, collecting five rebounds, going 0-for-4 and misfiring on three 3-pointers. Like everyone else in the Hornets’ 99-77 loss to the Spurs, he had his good moments and others he wants back.

From all accounts, though, Black is a quick study.

“Leaky is very, very coachable,” Garnett said. “He’s diligent, he’s in the gym, he’s about his work. He actually spent a little bit of time during the last few days of training camp just with our shooting coach Bruce (Kreutzer). He’s really trying to integrate himself and get better.”

But defensively, Garnett already sees plenty of promise in Black. And he’s impressed.

“He has really good active hands and I think he has some upside there,” Garnett said. “Obviously, he’s working on his touch and his shot. So, I can totally see 3-and-D potential for him. He’s a joy to be around.

“I’m excited to see where he goes, and I’m excited to have him in the fold.”

As Black tries to become a more well-rounded player and contribute frequently on the offensive side of the ball, he also promises not to lose focus on what got him here. He can’t.

It’s what Garnett preaches to him.

“Just telling me to keep being me,” Black said. “Obviously, I’m a defender and that’s what I hang my hat on and feel like the coaches really love that. I can’t control if I’m making shots or not. But that’s one thing I’ve got to make sure that I do every single game, every single possession — is rebound, play hard and just do what I can.”

That’s the mentality that led to Black also getting looks from Golden State, Boston, Milwaukee, Orlando and Atlanta on the pre-draft circuit. He said the Hornets were in contact with his agent through the days leading up to draft, constantly checking in.

A few weeks later, Black is pinching himself, driving into work on roads he’s beyond familiar with. He’s landed back in Charlotte, a place he never thought he’d wind up at this point in his wildest imagination.

Black is the definition of living the dream.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Black said. “I’m super grateful, super blessed for this opportunity to put a Hornets uniform on, to get out on the floor and try to contribute. That’s huge. That’s what I’ve been working my whole life for. I never thought I would be in a Hornets uniform, but that obviously makes it even better.”