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All Saints' Basketball Coordinator Alan Black has spent more than 50 years playing and coaching basketball in Australia. From humble beginnings as a player in 1979 to leading multiple teams as a coach or assistant coach, he will now be recognised in the Basketball WA Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to basketball in Western Australia.

Credit: Jackson Flindell / The West Australian

After moving from Victoria as a child, Alan first started playing basketball out of necessity when his older brother needed a fifth player for his under-12 team. Alan was just six years old at the time, but that early experience marked the beginning of a lifelong passion for the sport.

Speaking with Craig O'Donoghue from The West Australian, Alan said: "I loved it from the start. When they stopped playing, I went around the neighbourhood to ask people to make up a team."

Once he caught the basketball bug, Alan was warned that he would never be able to make a living from the game. However, he proved those predictions wrong.

"Barry Barnes, who was my mentor for my entire life, told me that I would never earn a living from playing and coaching basketball, so I became a maths teacher. Back then, you played for the fun of it."

Coincidentally, Alan was a mathematics teacher at All Saints' College from 1987 to 1988.

Alan has also witnessed the remarkable growth of basketball in Western Australia.

"It's been pretty amazing. I grew up through the evolution of basketball in Australia, and particularly in Perth. Nobody knew anything about basketball when I arrived and three years later we were playing in front of packed houses and it was on TV. The rise was so quick."

Alongside former Perth Wildcats captain Damian Martin, Alan will be inducted into the Basketball WA Hall of Fame this year. His dedication to the sport is legendary, but it is the passion and commitment he brings to everything he does that truly sets him apart.

We are delighted to have Alan's knowledge, experience and dedication as part of our basketball program and wider College community, and congratulate him on his induction into the Basketball WA Hall of Fame.