House of ‘Paign Roster Preview: Leron Black

Leron Black brought a special brand of toughness to the court when suited up for John Groce and the Illinois Fighting Illini from 2014-18. He’ll do it again with his former teammate Mike LaTulip in The Basketball Tournament next week.

Black’s career at Illinois was illustrious, and he was one of the best recruits that John Groce ever pulled in during his tenure. During his final season at Illinois, Leron Black led the team in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage at 15.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and .547 respectively.

Just to refresh your memory, here’s some memorable highlights of Leron Black from what was otherwise a rough season for Illini fans:

Since graduating and foregoing his senior season at Illinois, Leron Black has signed on professionally with teams in Israel, Argentina, and Brazil.

Here’s some more recent video showing how his game has developed:

As for his impact on House of ‘Paign, Leron Black adds a key presence alongside his former teammate Nnanna Egwu in the frontcourt. Both players will be counted on to play solid defense and grab as many boards as possible.

But if the video above is any indication, we can also expect some massive one-handed dunks from Leron, which personally I cannot wait to see.