Arkansas targets Black’s legal battle continues

Anthony Black, 2022 Arkansas 5-star basketball recruiting target, of Duncanville, Texas, was cleared to play the remainder of the season on Tuesday, but another appeal was filed to at least temporarily prevent that. does not happen.

Black (6-7, 200) had played his team’s previous nine games since being granted a temporary injunction on Nov. 13 after the Texas University Scholastic League declared him ineligible on his transfer from Coppell, Texas, in August.

The Razorback target was allowed to play for Duncanville (12-0) – the top high school team in the country, according to MaxPreps – until his temporary injunction appeal was tried.

A favorable ruling for Black was announced on Tuesday, but UIL immediately filed its own temporary injunction to prevent him from playing.

Duncanville coach Dean Peavy’s team beat Desoto 57-51 on Tuesday.

“This is where it is now with Anthony. He’s not able to play, ”Peavey said. “We’re just going to keep competing and doing our best as a team and hope to see him again soon. We won tonight, but it was tight.

Black visited Arkansas from Sept. 19-21 and remains very interested in the Razorbacks, according to Peavy.

“Arkansas is definitely still in the mix,” Peavy said. “I don’t know if he’s really close to a decision at this point because we have other things going on. But once we get through that, we can spend a little time on what his future will look like. “

Both Peavy and Black are fans of Arkansas coach Eric Musselman and his background as an NBA coach.

“I saw him get kicked off the other night (against Oklahoma),” Peavy said with a laugh. “It was pretty funny. Muss can really, really coach. He understands the game and knows how to teach it.

“You have a lot of coaches who know the game but not necessarily how to teach it. And to teach the NBA style, with all of his experience and his staff’s experience with the NBA game, I think that plays a big role in Anthony’s decision-making as well.

Musselman’s positionless basketball system also plays well with the pair.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to teach him here,” Peavy said. “Doing everything on the ball screens is important for the next level and the NBA, but we’re trying to make it play faster because when you talk about college and the NBA shot clock, the game is much faster. . Here we teach it to go down slopes and do faster readings and that you don’t always have to wait for the ball screen.

“As for the positionless, I think he’s really good with the ball and we teach him how to be better and how to move without the ball. He’s ready to go into any system and be successful anywhere. where he’s going.

Black is ranked 18th nationally by 247 Sports, 26th by ESPN and 34th by Rivals.

He has visited Arkansas, the State of Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, the State of Iowa and TCU and also remains interested in Gonzaga and Memphis.

“He’s gone to see everyone he’s interested in,” Peavy said. “Getting to games during the season would be difficult because of our schedule and wasn’t very high on our list. “

Black averaged 16.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 steals per game for Coppell last season and is working to improve his all-round offensive game.

“He really gets into his rhythm and understands what I want from him,” Peavy said. “He really pushes the ball up the slopes, does quick reads and is just the athlete he can be.

“In the past he always looked for ball screens, but now he’s learned to descend and is very successful with it.”

Duncanville won Class 6A state titles in 2019 and 2021 while the 2020 tournament was not completed due to covid-19.

Black is on a busy roster that also includes 5-star junior Ron Holland (6-8), 4-star juniors Ashton Hardaway (son of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway) and 6-10 junior Cameron Barnes. Texas State forward Davion Sykes and playmakers in northern Arizona engage CJ Ford and junior Aric Demings.

“We have five double-digit average guys, and every year we’re here we have five double-digit guys,” noted Peavy, who has been at Duncanville since 2018.

“Our guys really share the ball, they’re very selfless and we play so fast the guys are able to do what they’re good at. They step into their roles and buy into them. They just know they will have their opportunities.

Duncanville has had some impressive wins this season, including an 80-73 win on November 29 over a Chatsworth, Calif. Sierra Canyon team that features 6-3 junior goalie Bronny James (son of LeBron James), 6-9 l ‘USC Kijani. Wright and Nebraska 6-6 goaltender Ramel Loyd, the latter two who made official visits to Arkansas in June.

Duncanville’s biggest win this season was a 67-66 victory over Montverde, Fla. Academy, MaxPrep’s top-ranked team in its Academy-only poll, on December 9 in Game 1 of the HoopHall West event at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale. , Arizona.