University of San Francisco Athletics

Dennis Black was born on August 24, 1946, in Berkeley, and attended Albany High School, prior to attending USF. He played for the Dons from 1966 to 1968, making an immediate impact once assigned to the Varsity Basketball team as a sophomore. At 6’ 5”, 200 lbs., he played as a forward alongside fellow Hall of Fame players Erwin Mueller, Joe Ellis, and Russ Gumina. A good shooter and rebounder, Black averaged 10.0 PPG while shooting 54.4% from the field in the 1965-1966 season. He was third on the team behind Ellis and Mueller on rebounds at 7.8 RPG. Late in the season, he was the catalyst in the Dons’ victory over UC Santa Barbara in a critical WCAC contest. He opened the game scoring 13 of the Dons first 15 points before Ellis took over. That season he was named to the All-WCAC Honorable Mention Team. In conference play, he led the WCAC in field goal percentage, making 59.2% of his attempted shots.
 
The following year, the team lost three seniors to graduation. His junior year he earned the first of his two First Team All-WCAC honors, in 1967 and 1968. He led the Dons averaging 19.1 PPG, 12.5 RPG, and shot 46.2% from the field. In conferences, he finished second in rebounding, with an average of 12.6, and was seventh in scoring at 19.3 PPG. At the time, his average was the third highest in scoring, behind Bill Russell and Ollie Johnson. His senior year, he again led in scoring, with 19.9 PPG and in rebounds with 9.9 RPG. In WCAC he finished with 18.0 points per contest. He finished his USF career third in points at 1269, and third in rebounds at 786 (9.9 RPG). 

He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets in the 16^th Round, (192^nd pick overall) of the 1968 NBA Draft but played only briefly as a rookie. After leaving the NBA, he worked for Hershey’s, Campbell’s, and grew grapes for Far Niente Winery.
 

Catching up with Dennis Black Video