Black leads pack of Blue Eagles

In a way, it was surprising and yet not so surprising. Norman Black is now the head coach of the Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles. Former head coach Sandy Arespacochaga would stay on as an assistant. Very few questions were asked.

"Of course, I felt good," Black admitted. "It’s an opportunity for me to get back into coaching. I’d been away from coaching for a while. It’s been two years since I last coached in the PBA. I’d been with the team about nine months, so I’m used to the atmosphere here in the Ateneo University. It’s nice to be back."

Black, who played briefly with the Detroit Pistons in the 1980-81 season, definitely carries a hefty resume. The PBA created the "Mr. 100 Percent" Award specifically for him (although it was also later given to Alaska stalwart Sean Chambers), as a reward for his outstanding efforts. There were other imports who scored more and were flashier, but Black always won, and that was the bottom line. And that was the first thing to escape his lips when asked what his plans were for the Blue Eagles.

"To instill a winning attitude, because I’ve always been a winner my entire life," Black says. "I believe you always give a hundred percent and try to win every game."

As a coach, Black was a gold mine as Ateneo’s consultant. He won his first PBA championship for San Miguel Beer in the 1987 Reinforced Conference, captured both the Reinforced and Open titles in 1988, then added the All-Filipino to complete the Grand Slam in 1989, putting him in very illustrious company. Baby Dalupan did it first, then Tommy Manotoc and after Black, only Tim Cone has replicated the feat, back in 1996. Let’s not forget that he’s the only man to have steered the Sta. Lucia Realtors to a crown, as well. Now, he faces a different challenge: coaching in college, where the community’s roots go deeper into their stake in their team.

"The pressure of coaching is basically the same. You are actually being employed to win," Black explains. "Whenever you have to win a game or a championship, then there’s going to be pressure there. But as far as the atmosphere is concerned, instead of just dealing with the management of the PBA team and its fan base, you always have to deal with the alumni and the school, who also want you to do well. So the atmosphere is different, but the pressure of coaching is always the same."

In fact, there were a few nasty rumors swirling not so much around Black’s ascension, but more surrounding Arespacochaga’s descent. Black, always a noble professional, always deferred to his younger head coach whenever interviews or questions regarding the team and game plan were concerned. In fact, he even chose not to sit on the bench, preferring instead to take notes and give his inputs away from the public view. At this point, the rumors that an influential alumnus exerted pressure on players he placed on the team to demand Arespacochaga’s removal and give his players more of a chance to shine are just that, rumors. Even if they were true, Black’s acceptance of the head coaching position would then seem slightly heroic. If another man were to take the job, he would likely jettison the entire coaching staff, and pull in his own crew. But Norman and Sandy respect each other as gentlemen, and work well together, and keep to the business at hand.

"I’m still trying to analyze what the strengths of the team will be," Black adds. "We have a few guys trying out for the team, some guys who have not been able to join us in practice, because they’re still in school. The things I would really like to concentrate on for the team are to make us a little bit faster. I want an up-tempo game. And I want a better shooting team, so we’re going to practice our shooting a lot. We want to be able to play good defense: pressure defense, half-court defense, help defense. We want to be able to specialize in everything as far as defense is concerned."

With that mouthful, Black’s got his work cut out for him. Students and alumni are notoriously impatient, and, let’s face it, Joel Banal’s production of instant results was a very tough act to follow. But, looking at his present crop of players, it appears the Blue Eagles will be a very good team, if not this year, for certain next year, with the maturity of giant Japet Aguilar and high-flying forward JC Intal. There will also be the adjustment of having players splitting their time with the duties with the Harbour Center PBL team. Perhaps the most glaring weakness may be a very small backcourt, even if LA Tenorio opts to stay one more year. But Black is confident the skills he will teach will serve the team well.

"These are things that we can use throughout the entire UAAP season, so that when teams face us, they know they’re going to face a certain Ateneo team."

Then, of course, there is the obvious question.

"No question, I believe La Salle and FEU will always be there and be very strong," Black declares. "This year, I think UP and UE will probably be strong. UP is pretty much intact from last year. They had a very strong team, particularly in the second round. And UE has a very young team and a very athletic team."

And Ateneo has Norman Black. It will be a very interesting season, indeed.