Top Five Transfers of the Bill Self Era
By Evan Riggs
No. 4 — Tarik Black
Best season — 2013-2014: 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game
Even though the graduate transfer from Memphis only spent one season at Kansas he had a major impact during that time.
First and foremost, he was a mentor to Joel Embiid and the rest of the freshmen on a young Kansas roster. Embiid was never supposed to be as good as he was in his lone year at Kansas and while a lot of that can be attributed to the Embiid being a basketball savant, Black also deserves some credit for helping Embiid along the way.
But it’s not like Black’s only role was to lead the young guys. He was the Jayhawks’ starting center for the first month of the season. Black struggled for the first few months of the season with foul trouble and he wasn’t able to stay on the court consistently.
By February, Black started to find himself and appeared much more comfortable. Once Embiid was lost for the season on March 1, Black did everything he could to replace him. He scored in double figures in three of Kansas’ final six game and he was the leading scorer against Stanford with 18 points.
Black may not have been the most talented big man Self has ever coached, but he was a fantastic locker room guy and he stepped up when the Jayhawks needed him most.
Next: 3. Kevin Young