Andrew Black's love of competing with those that mean most either alongside him or supporting him is what keeps him going no matter how many minutes he gets ahead of becoming the first Willetton Tigers man to 300 NBL1 West games.
Black captained Willetton into the first grand final of his career last year in what doubles as the first ever SBL/NBL1 West grand final played on the big stage of RAC Arena, and the only thing motivating him to continue playing in 2025 was wanting to keep doing what he loves with some lifelong friends.
The 31-year-old knew that he wasn’t guaranteed anything in terms of playing time in 2025 and he wasn’t even aware that his 300-game milestone was approaching which he reaches on Sunday, but that's not what motivates him.
Having grown up with the Black family already firmly entrenched at Willetton and now having played under both his dad, Alan, and brother, Steve, as coaches during his career before two-time Coach of the Year Adam Nener took over, quite simply the club is a second home to him.
All the motivation Black needs is to get to come and compete at training during the week, and stay ready to play each weekend whether he hits the floor or not.
Taking pride in being a role player
While Black is being somewhat self-depreciating calling himself a role player given the big minute and key roles he has played at times on Willetton teams in his 298-game career, that does sum up the situation he finds himself in now.
There's no shame in that either considering the Willetton back court features Damien Scott, Roosevelt Williams Jr, Tyreese Davis, Tom Musumeci and even 16-year-old Luke Paul, but he takes great pride in not letting his minutes impact him whatsoever.
Whether Black plays or not on a weekend, his commitment and passion for training is as strong as ever, and he'll forever be ready to go whenever coach Nener calls his number in a game.
"The one thing that I am really proud of and it's something that's just dipping as you get older and older, is that you look at the real stars like Damien Scott, Michael Vigor and Kyle Armour, they get to 300 games but when you're a role player it can be really tough," Black said.
"You never know if you are going to get on the court each week but I'm proud that I've been able to stick with it and keep going through that.
"I've just always stayed ready for my moment and it can be harder to in that role player role, but I hope there are some guys waiting for their opportunity who can see what is possible if you keep persevering.
"What's helped keep me going is just that I honestly love training so much. That's the biggest thing that drives me and the pursuit of doing something difficult with some of my absolute best friends in the world, I don’t know if there's anything better than that.
"It drives me professionally and personally doing difficult things, and doing it with fun and with people that you love and really respect."
Reaching 300-game milestone
Black has spent the week working in Geraldton as part of his role with CBH Group as Manager Environment and Sustainability, and he wasn’t aware that his 300-game milestone was coming this Sunday when the Tigers host the Buccaneers.
He is proud to reach 300 games and to become the first Willetton man to do so as already being the club's games record holder, but it's far from the reason that has him continuing to play.
"It was a real big milestone, 250 for me, to become a life member at Willetton and that's always been something that I really wanted to achieve, and now every game after that is just a bonus really," Black said.
"It's incredible to think I'm about to play 300 games and I've said this also when I got to 200 and 250, when I first started playing for Willetton and knowing how competitive it is there, I was just absolutely stoked just to play one game.
"So to get 300 at a club that is so competitive and every single year we've got guys coming out of 18s who are high quality and fighting for a spot. That's the thing that still blows my mind that I'm about to make the 12 for a 300th time this weekend.
"It fuels me and keeps me young and competitive with the young guys we always have coming through, and it makes sure you are doing everything right to still be there because every off-season there are guys coming in capable of taking your spot."
Playing alongside fellow 300-gamers
While Black is the first Willetton player in the men's competition to reach 300 games with the Tigers, a big driving force to continuing to play is to keep on being teammates of Damien Scott, Kyle Armour and Michael Vigor.
Scott has now been at the Tigers ever since crossing from Cockburn in 2015, Vigor has now been at Willetton since 2021 and Armour has returned in 2025 for the first time since 2018 but 161 of his 319 games have been at the club.
Scott has won a championship as well with the Cougars, Vigor with the Perth Redbacks and Armour at the East Perth Eagles, but Black cherishes the bond they have and the one that he is also creating with the next generations coming through.
"It's an honour and a privilege getting to see those guys every week. I don’t know anything better than trying to do something difficult with people that you love and think the world of," Black said.
"So to be able continue to train and play with those guys is really special, and then every year it's a different team with different people that you can learn from. Guys like Gero and Ro are now guys that I've also built bonds with over the last couple of years.
"I have just got married earlier this year and sitting out in the crowd watching was mostly Willetton players and all three of my groomsmen are guys I played SBL or NBL1 or under-18s with so the lifelong bonds I've made is what I'll remember the most.
"It makes it worthwhile copping all those elbows from Kyle on Monday and Wednesday at training with the bonds that you end up creating."
Last year's grand final experience
For much of Black's 298-game career that started back in 2012 they have been knocking on the door of being contenders. There has been numerous top four finishes, close calls to reaching a grand final and even a top place finish back when his brother Steve was coaching in 2017.
They finally broke through for a first grand final appearance in Black's career last year with a stunning upset of the Buccaneers in Geraldton in the preliminary final where Willetton hadn't won since 2017.
That led to being part of the first ever grand final at RAC Arena and while the result didn’t quite go Willetton's way thanks to the brilliance of Joel Murray for the Mandurah Magic, it's a memory that Black will always hold dear.
"It was a really cool experience being part of the first grand final that we played in, and all that lead up to it and everything was really special to do it with that group," Black said.
"We just played really good basketball at the end of the season there and were just unlucky to run into a really good team in the end, but I was really proud of how the guys handled it.
"A lot of those guys took real motivation from that to come back in really good condition for this year too to be really hungry to be ready for that spotlight and that game again.
"After being so close for so long, we finally got to the grand final but now that's only made us want to find out what it's like to win one even more."
Coaching running in the family
As much as playing runs in the Black family, perhaps coaching does even more so with Andrew's dad Alan regarded as one of the NBL's all-time great coaches while his brother Steve is now following suit currently at the Bendigo Braves of the NBL1 South after his time coaching Willetton.
Playing under his brother especially was something that Andrew is going to find hard to beat as the greatest years of his playing career, but he's not sure coaching is in his blood at least to the degree it is for his dad and brother.
"He does know there's no point trying to recruit me because he knows that my life and work and everything is all here, and Willetton is my basketball home. But honestly, geez do I miss playing for him," Black said.
"I loved having him as my coach so much and you talk about honours and privileges, being able to play for your brother who does what he does at an absolute elite level, it's one of the highlights of my career.
"He also just knew my game in and out so he was such a pleasure to play for, but I'm not sure if I want to go down that coaching path myself. I think I like being liked too much and all the coaches seem to end up being hated so I don’t know if I'd like that.
"I would like to do some coaching at some point and I do enjoy coaching grassroots and some underage teams, but I'm not sure I'd want to do it at the level my dad and brother have. It is one of hardest jobs ever, no one is ever happy with them and they are absolute maniacs, but they love it."
Celebrating milestone at home
Black isn't quite sure how much celebration for a milestone is left after the big deal that was made for his 250th game back in 2023 that saw him earn life membership at Willetton.
However, one new thing for his 300-game milestone on Sunday at Willetton Basketball Stadium in the preliminary final rematch with the Buccs that Black is looking forward to is sharing it with wife, Vanessa, after the couple got married earlier this year.
"It's always good to play these kind of games at home and it will be an awesome day. I think my friends and family must be sick of coming to milestone games so I might be a bit light on for Sunday's game, maybe making a big deal of the 250 might have been enough," Black said.
"But I'm starting to get old so I'll just be very happy to see my wife there and this will be my first milestone with us being married so that actually sounds weird coming out of my mouth.
"Mum and dad will certainly be there, and I did have to laugh last week thinking how many parents and wives both come to watch the same person play D-League at Vic Park.
"But they were there for me and their support always means everything to me, and it's always a tough game against Geraldton which we know more than anyone because of how many straight we'd lost before that win last year in the final up there.
"It's always fun to go up against those guys who have done it the right way for so long that you can't help but respect them."