You could almost hear ONeill telling Black to guard the book with his life. Black said he was told to make sure nobody sees it. And yes, Black guaranteed the playbookrunning to about 100 pages for offense and another 100 for defensewill be for his eyes only.
"I couldnt believe it," said Black. "The book puts in writing Kevins rules on defense, his seven basic offensive sets and everything there is to know about how the Raptors play. Its amazing. And Im so grateful to Kevin for the opportunity to learn from him."
Black was introduced to ONeill during the Raptors summer camp in Newport Beach a few months back by former PBA coaching consultant Jim Kelly, now Torontos director of personnel. He was invited back to attend the clubs training camp for veterans, rookies and free agent invitees.
Black departed Manila last Sept. 30 and took a 23-hour flight passing through Japan and Detroit before landing in Toronto where he was practically whisked from the airport to the Raptors practice facility. In all, Norm spent 11 full days with the Raptors and attended 18 practices plus two preseason games against the Washington Wizards and the Greek team Panathinaikos.
Black called it a learning experience. "Ive gotten to know how they do things professionally in the NBA (National Basketball Association)," he said. "Ill always cherish this experience and I thank coach ONeill for it. All your life you dream about getting involved in the NBA and suddenly, Im in the middle of it."
During his stay in Toronto, Black officially joined the Raptors staff as a stringer scout. His first assignment was to produce a thorough scouting report on the 10 imports now playing in the PBA. The report was fed to the teams computerized data base and used as a model for the Raptors six regular scouts including ex-PBA import Walker Russell. Black said the Raptors head scout is Bob Zuffelato and consultant Jack McCloskey was the Detroit Pistons general manager when he played for coach Scotty Robertson in 1980. So Black felt right at home with Kelly, Russell and McCloskey.
The purpose of Blacks report was to determine if any of the imports could play in the NBA. Black wouldnt disclose how he rated the imports but said he recommended that some at least be given a chance to show their wares in training camp. A scouting report typically rates players into eight categoriesall-pro, starting five, support player, bench player, training camp invitee, international player, minor league player and ability to play in the NBA.
What Black learned most from ONeill was his defensive philosophy. "Coach is known for his defense," he said. "With the Pistons, he was Rick Carlisles defensive coach. At practice, I took down notes, almost word for word each time coach spoke and drill for drill. Im hoping that eventually, Ill get a chance to share this knowledge."
Black said he often talked shop with the players. He got close to Lamond Murray because they lifted weights together in the gym. "Lamonds the teams best perimeter player and outside shooter," he said. "He didnt play last season because of a torn ligament in his right foot. But hes fine now."
Black didnt get to interact with Vince Carter much. He once had dinner with reserve guard and ex-PBA import Rick Brunson.
"Rick liked the Philippines even if he played only one game for Ginebra under coach (Sonny) Jaworski," continued Black. "Apparently, coach Jaworski didnt like him too much."
Black described Chinese center Batere Mengke, a Toronto recruit from San Antonio, as a fast learner. "I coached against him in the 1994 Asian Games," said Black. "He has an interpreter but I think he understands coach ONeills instructions without translation. He catches on quickly."
Black said the Raptors stringer scout in Hong Kong is keeping track of nine Asian prospectseight Chinese and one Koreanall within the 16 to 18 age range.
At practice, Black noticed how hard the Raptors worked. "You could tell theyre all excited to play for coach ONeill," he said. "Its a big change from last years coach (Lenny Wilkens) because now, the orientation is defense. Antonio Davis, Jerome Williams, Carterall of them work hard. Coach can be tough in practice and he speaks firmly but never offends his players. The players were more serious in this camp than what I attended last summer because the veterans were around. I sat and observed everythingfrom their stretching, warm-ups, offense, defense to the shootarounds."
Black said he was pleasantly surprised by the PBAs popularity among the Filipino employees at the Royal Park Hotel where he stayed in Toronto. "About 15 to 20 percent of the employees are Filipino and they all watch the PBA on the Filipino channel," he noted. "They walked up to me and I talked to them in my best Pilipino. On the way to the practice facility from the hotel, I passed a donut shop, a convenience store and a few other shops and there were Filipinos working there. We talked about basketball and home. It mustve looked funny to Canadians seeing this tall black guy talking in a foreign language. The other Raptors scouts were surprised to hear me talking Pilipino."
Black returned here last Oct. 17 and the next day, flew to Bacolod to cover a PBA game for TV.
Black said hes excited to share what he learned from the Raptors and his first chance to do it is when he conducts the Burlington clinics for seven straight Saturdays, starting Nov. 8, at the Phelps Dodge gym on Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong. The clinics will run from 8 to 11 a.m. for 12 to 18 year old kids. Eric Reyes and Francis Rodriguez will assist in teaching the kids. Some of Blacks guest teachers will be Samboy Lim, Hector Calma, Chito Loyzaga and plyometrics guru Kirk Collier.