Life happens..if you have a family you can't eat a championship ring but you can sell it to provide..that said, last article I saw about CJ he was doing OK and working locally in Loudon
At age 32, former Tennessee basketball standout C.J. Black is a decade older than most of the players he faces in the Rocky Top Summer League. So, what is he doing challenging a bunch of kids?
"Lying to myself," he said with a laugh. "Living a false dream."
Although he is no longer as quick or athletic as most of the summer league's younger players, Black competes reasonably well against them.
"I use a lot more technique," he explained. "Athleticism can only take you so far. If you're somebody with good technique who understands the game and what they're doing, you really don't have to use a lot of athleticism. You can have patience."
Black probably learned patience at Tennessee. After a heralded prep career at Chattanooga Brainerd High School, he played his freshman season of college ball for a Vol squad that limped home 11-16 in 1996-97.
Good times were on the horizon, however. Black helped lead the program to consecutive records of 20-9, 21-9 and 26-7 with three consecutive NCAA Tournament bids. The last squad set a program record for single-season victories and came within a whisker of advancing to the Elite Eight.
C.J. Black played a key role in that turnaround. The 6-8, 255-pounder departed ranked No. 1 on the school's all-time blocked-shots list, No. 9 on the all-time rebounding list and No. 16 on the all-time scoring list.
"My time at Tennessee was great," he recalled this week. "The main reason I came to UT was to make it a powerhouse like some of the other schools around the country. I grew up a Kansas Jayhawk fan, and I wanted Tennessee to be the same way. I think I accomplished that."
Indeed. Tennessee went 67-25 during his final three years on The Hill, then rode that momentum to a 22-11 record the year after he left. The program slipped a bit during Buzz Peterson's four-year run as head man but is experiencing unprecedented success under Bruce Pearl. The Vols are 126-46 the past five years, with five consecutive NCAA Tournament bids.
A decade removed from his college career, Black now works as a boiler engineer for Tate & Lyle's Loudon plant.
"We make 19 different products out of corn," he said.