Ken Black

Ken Black is one of the most influential coaches in the history of the Irish national leagues.

Hall of Fame Induction

2026

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Clubs associated with

Neptune, St. Vincent's BC, Swords BC

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Ken Black is one of the most influential coaches in the history of the Irish national leagues as well as being a tremendous servant to the game at schools and the grassroots level.

A native of South Carolina, Black first came to Ireland in the autumn of 1984 having been recommended to the Burgerland Neptune head coach position by Terry Strickland, a former player of his at the University of South Carolina at Aiken. Together with Ray Smith who Black recruited, a cast of exceptional young Irish players and veterans whom Black empowered and a progressive club executive that would unveil its own Stadium that same season, they transformed Neptune into not just the leading basketball team in the country for the remainder of the decade but one of the most beloved and watched teams in all of Irish sport.

That initial 1984-85 season Neptune won both the league and Cup after two buzzer-beaters from Strickland against arch rivals Blue Demons. The highly charismatic and animated Black was also central to that triumph. By assembling the best American tandem in the history of the national league, he introduced a thrilling fast-break game, often initiated by a javelin pass the length of the court from Strickland or Smith. He was also the first coach to fully embrace the three-point line introduced that season, allowing Tom O’Sullivan and Tom Wilkinson to show their prowess from that range.

In 1985-86 he led Neptune to another league title as they became the first team in league history to average more than 100 points a game. After a stint then with St Vincent’s Dublin, Black returned to Neptune midway through the 1987-88 season to act as an assistant to head coach Bob Stephens and inspire the club to another National Cup and an unprecedented and still unmatched fourth consecutive men’s league title after Gerald Kennedy’s famous 74-foot buzzer-beater against Killester.

By then Black was based in Dublin where he and wife Joan have remained and made a huge contribution to all levels of the game. For decades Black coached at Chanel College and Loreto Swords, guiding the latter to the U19B National Cup in 2008. He was also instrumental in the progression of Swords Basketball Club, coaching multiple teams and his own children, including daughter Peggy who now captains their women’s national league team.