Terry Black Feature 11/23/99
6/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Robert Vasquez
Assassins and hired guns of western folklore were individuals that were feared or despised. Some were seen as heroes, others as villains.
Today, a few still walk tall on the plains of Central Texas. One is right here on the Baylor campus. He is known as the Silent Assassin.
Baylor signed the Silent Assassin, Terry Black, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Indian Hills Junior College, in Ottumwa, Iowa, to play the next two seasons for the Baylor basketball team. Last year he was named the National Junior College player of the Year, while helping his team wins its second in a series of back to back national championship.
At Messener High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was a part of two state championship teams. He was also named to the McDonald's All-American Team his senior year.
Black is known by the Baylor coaches as the "Silent Assassin" because he is not flamboyant or outspoken. Instead, he is considered rather quiet and usually chooses to let his actions speak over his words.
The Silent Assassin, said assistant coach Kevin Lewis, "is a phenomenal athlete, who can jump and has explosive leaping ability. He knows how to win and has a knack of being where the ball is."
Furthermore, Coach Lewis says Black has a great work ethic. He works hard everyday on all aspects of his game, from hustling for loose balls, to outside shooting, to yet another vital part of basketball game, free throw shooting.
Black said he considers free throws to be a vital key to Baylor's future success. He added that opposing teams will foul a player to see how he will do at the line. He feels it is important that the whole team shoot free throws well. In a tight game, it will take away any advantage in selective fouling by a trailing opponent in their effort to get the ball back.
The "Silent Assassin" knows what it takes to get the job done. Black feels that basketball is just as much mental as it is physical.
Black said, "When I post up, I feel unstoppable." Self-discipline is the key to success added Black. "Sometimes the challenge that comes from within is greater than the one your opposition brings.
"Regardless of how opposing players try to frustrate me, I keep hustling and moving, and before long the tables are turned and the other guy becomes frustrated trying to keep up with me." Black said.
Black has always been disciplined. In North Milwaukee, where he grew up, he says that there were gangs and drug problems there like many other cities around the country.
"Gangs and drugs are everywhere," Black said, "You have to keep it real. It is very easy to get caught up in it and be at the wrong place at the wrong time. I learned to distance myself away from all that."
Because of his strong self-disciplinary character, Black feels he is the emotional leader on the court. He says he is always ready to step forward and help the team in any way he can.
Black has already been noticed by his teammates. "He is a very exciting player who is going to surprise many people with his high energy play," said senior teammate David Jones.
Surprise he did with 25 points and 14 rebounds in the season opener against Eastern Washington. Black brought the crowd to its feet with his emotional slam-dunks.
Tevis Stukes another senior teammate said "Without a doubt, he is going to be one the best players in the BIG 12. He is definitely one of the best I have ever played with."
The Silent Assassin has brought something to Baylor that rubs off. Chemistry is a word that has not recently been mentioned in the same breath with Baylor Basketball. To Black, chemistry means that every player wants to be a great player. "Every great player wants the ball in pressure situations. The great thing about this team is that we have five that want the ball." When the bullets (basketballs) and dust fly at Six Shooter Junction (Waco's Old West nickname) the Silent Assassin stands ready to restore order and shoot down all Bear hunters.
One thing is for sure, with the Silent Assassin in the Bears' Den, there will be no Bears in hibernation this season.
