AARON Black is another case of a son also trying to rise.
Always, that’s a tough act to follow.
A son cannot just outshine his father. Can a water rise above its source?
Aaron’s father, Norman Black, is a living legend in basketball.
As an import years back, Norman was a pillar for Royal Tru-Orange, then a San Miguel Corp. team.
So versatile was Norman that he could practically play all positions: guard, forward and center.
One time, under the late and lamented Coach Ed Ocampo (he loved scotch so much he had a glass of it under his chair when coaching), Norman was tasked to do point guard chores. Right that minute, Norman became, at 6-foot-6 or thereabouts, the tallest ever point guard in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
I should know. I covered Black essay his role, leading Royal Tru-Orange to several victories.
Norman now coaches Meralco, where his son, Aaron, is playing.
Stunningly, Aaron, despite limited time, displayed an uncanny ability to accomplish tasks whenever Norman dispatched him during the PBA bubble in Pampanga.
So adequately adept was Aaron in performing his duties that he actually outdid himself during the several occasions he was fielded in.
Like all fathers coaching their sons in the bigtime, Norman felt the pressure. I’m sure that every time he gave Aaron his minutes on the floor, swimming in his mind would be butterflies coming from his guts.
But astonishingly, Aaron wouldn’t, didn’t, disappoint. He’d shoot twos as well as threes. He’d steal, disrupt the enemy’s plays during crucial times. He’d help orchestrate offensive, as well as defensive patterns.
Norman would only be too delighted to see his son coming to his own.
I must admit that the first time I saw Aaron play for Ateneo, I immediately had this gut-feel he’d go places in no time. That is why my one beef with coach Tab Baldwin of Ateneo is, he had hardly given Aaron playing time in his Blue Eagle days.
But that is water under the bridge now.
In emerging as the best rookie of the year, Aaron set a record worth remembering: He became the lowest draft pick to win it.
Picked 18th overall, Aaron surpassed Larry Fonacier, a fellow Eagle. Fonacier was 14th overall when he won rookie honors in 2005 as a Red Bull greenhorn.
“This will definitely push me to work even harder,” said Aaron, a 23-year-old lefty. “It should inspire players that you don’t have to be a first-round draft pick to make a name for yourself.”
The father oozes with pride—but, of course “Knowing Aaron, he likes to work on his game,” said Norman, the San Miguel Beer grand slam coach in 1989. “He knows the things he has to work on to be successful in the PBA.”
We ain’t seen nothin’ yet?
THAT’S IT Greetings to my January birthday buddies Danny and Nini Dalena, Vernon B. Sarne and Ray Butch “Elvis” Gamboa. Mabuhay kayo!