Debbie Black (born July 29, 1966) is an American

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

former player and current coach. During her professional career, Black played for the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

in Australia, the American Basketball League and the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

. She retired from the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

of the WNBA in 2005.Eastern Illinois University – Debbie Black Named EIU Women's Basketball Coach
/ref> Black was an assistant coach for the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

before being named the head coach of the

Eastern Illinois University Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

Women's Basketball team on May 16, 2013, in which position she continued until 2017.

College years

Born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Black is a 1984 graduate of Philadelphia's

Archbishop Wood High School Archbishop Wood Catholic High School is a private school, private, Roman Catholic high school within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school was founded in 1964 in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, Wa ...

. Black played for

Jim Foster (basketball) Jim Foster (born October 16, 1948) is the former head coach of the women's college basketball team at Chattanooga. He has previously served as a head coach of the women's basketball team at St. Joseph's, Vanderbilt and Ohio State. He has been e ...

St. Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1851 as Saint Joseph's College. Saint Joseph's is the seventh olde ...

and graduated in 1988. While there she helped lead the Hawks to two

Philadelphia Big 5 The Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’s collegiate championship. The Big 5 c ...

championships and an

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

title. A multi-sport athlete, Black earned 12

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

s in basketball,

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

, and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

USA Basketball

Black was named to the team representing the USA at the

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

competition in

Taipei, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. 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.

WNBL career

Black played eight seasons with the Tasmanian Islanders (1989–96) of the WNBL in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. She helped the team win national titles in 1991 and 1995 before leaving to go to the ABL.

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.

WNBA career

Black was drafted 15th overall by the

Utah Starzz Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its we ...

in 2nd round of the 1999 WNBA Draft. She then played for the

Miami Sol The Miami Sol were a professional women's basketball team that was based in Miami and entered the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) in 2000. They played their games at American Airlines Arena as the sister team to the Miami Heat of the ...

from 2000 to 2002. While playing for the Sol, she earned the

WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season -- 1997, to the top defensive player of the regular season ...

at the age of 35. In 2003, Black was acquired by the

during the dispersal draft. She played for the Sun until her retirement in 2005. 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." At 5' 2.5", she was the shortest player in the WNBA, just half an inch shorter than

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

point guard

Shannon Bobbitt Shannon Denise Bobbitt
''wnba.com'', accessed . (born December 6, 1985) is an American professional basketb ...

and just edging out

Temeka Johnson Temeka Rochelle Johnson (born September 6, 1982) is a former American professional basketball player. Her primary position was point guard. High school years Johnson attended Bonnabel High School in Kenner, Louisiana. College years Johnson playe ...

. She is a half inch shorter than the shortest NBA player in history,

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is a former American basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season caree ...

. During 1999 she played on the

with the tallest WNBA player, 7'2"

Małgorzata Dydek Małgorzata Dydek (known as Margo Dydek in the United States, 28 April 1974 – 27 May 2011) was a Polish professional basketball player. Standing tall, she was famous for being the tallest professional female basketball player in the world. Sh ...

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. On May 16, 2013, Black was named the head coach of the Eastern Illinois Panthers. On March 7, 2017, Black's contract was not renewed as head coach of EIU. She endured budget cuts and layoffs during her time as coach and the university did not receive state funds for over a year. 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. 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

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 *Inducted into the Philadelphia Big Five Hall of Fame, 1995 *Inducted into the St. Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame, 1994 *Inducted into the Bucks County chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, 2010

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

External links

Eastern Illinois University (EIU) Women's BasketballWNBADaily Eastern News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Debbie 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia Colorado Xplosion players Connecticut Sun players Eastern Illinois Panthers women's basketball coaches Miami Sol players Ohio State Buckeyes women's basketball coaches Point guards Saint Joseph's Hawks women's basketball players Utah Starzz draft picks Utah Starzz players Vanderbilt Commodores women's basketball coaches