“First and foremost, I would like to give a special thank you to those who have been actively involved in the support of this newly profound basketball academy. The formation and foundation of this special academy has finally become a dream come true. It is with my greatest hope that How We Hoop Basketball Development Academy will impact lives and create opportunities and avenues of success for players, trainers and coaches worldwide. Please enjoy and take advantage of everything that our academy has to offer and I look forward to our future growth.”
The journey begins…
Chelsee Black, a Bessemer, AL native, can be noted as one of the top female basketball players of the decade in the state of Alabama and one of the most influential players to impact the city of Bessemer. Her basketball journey began at the age of four years old where she picked up her first basketball and never put it down. A striking and noticeable talent with abilities beyond her years, Chelsee was a stand out player on all participated basketball teams from the elementary to collegiate level.
After completing and winning a middle championship in the 7th grade at Davis Middle School, Chelsee bypassed her 8th grade middle school season to compete on the high school varsity level where she earned a spot as an eighth grade starting point guard. Competing in five and half high school varsity basketball seasons, Chelsee became a familiar face to many and a crowd favorite. During her high school tenure, Chelsee helped lead her team to four area championships, was a 4x Team MVP and captain, received The Birmingham Tip-Off Club Coca Cola Player of the Week award after a 38 point, 43 point and 38 point three game stretch performance, was named the 2012 West Girls Player of the Year averaging 22.7ppg, 3.7rpg, 2.9 steals and 2.2 assists and scored well over 2,000 points in her high school playing career.
One to Remember…
The Super Senior
Birmingham Tip-Off Club Coca Cola Player of the Week
2012 West Girls Player of the Year
Averaged 22.7ppg, 3.7rpg, 2.9 steals and 2.2 assists
Scored well over 2,000 plus points
All-Star Team Selections
Selected to participate in the Alabama North/South All-Star as a junior in 2011
Selected to play in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star game as a senior in 2012
Ever Faithful, Ever Loyal…
Dream it. Believe it. Achieve it.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
Chelsee continued her playing career on a full athletic scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 2012-2016. During her playing career at UAB, she was a 3 year starting point guard and team captain, 2nd Team All-Conference Player, and currently 19th on the UAB All-Time Scoring list recording 1,356 points over the span of four consecutive years. Chelsee worked tirelessly at improving her game and enhancing her basketball IQ spending hours out of the day putting in extra work and studying film to be a player that her coaches and teammates could depend on. A true point guard, she was fun to watch and is best remembered for her outstanding leadership qualities and amazing pull up jump shot and ability to hit clutch shots that awarded her the nickname “Big Shot Cheese”. In addition to her playing career, Chelsee received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a double minor in Psychology and Health Education.
A UAB Favorite
In addition to her likeness on the court from fans and community members, Chelsee was also best remembered in the city of Birmingham for her interaction with fans after games, involvement in community service projects and volunteer opportunities along with her uplifting personality and her infectious smile earning her the nickname “Cheese” that touched and continues to touch the lives of many! From signing autographs to taking pictures with fans, Chelsee made it a point to always put others before herself in the way she represented her family name and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
The Transition…
After a successful collegiate career, high hopes of playing professional basketball overseas hung in the balance when Chelsee found out that a previous ankle injury had progressed into a long term problem and required immediate surgery. A fifteen month recovery process detoured this dream, but re-routed her into another one. A few months post surgery Chelsee was hired as the Assistant High School Girls Basketball Coach at her alma mater, Bessemer City High School. Enduring a rough, but hard fought season, the team went 8-16, but still competed for an Area Championship where they unfortunately fell short. However, her impact was vital to their eight game win season and post season play. While also working a full time job, Chelsee invested countless hours of individual and team development work that helped her players become better individually and as a team.
After the completion of the season, she was offered a collegiate coaching position as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, MS. Serving from 2017-2020 in the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC), Chelsee became well known as a dynamic recruiter, top assistant, in game strategist, and top notch skill developer. During her time at Pearl River, she assisted with the rising of a low level program and helped to record a record of 45-27 overall, 23-19 in division play, and competed in the state and region playoffs during her second and third season. In addition to a very boosting record from the history of Pearl River Women’s Basketball, seven players continued their playing careers at Division I programs and thirteen overall to play at four year programs. While working as an assistant, Chelsee also received her Masters Degree in Education with an Emphasis in Positive Coaching and Athletic Leadership from the University of Missouri in May 2020.
For the Love of the Game
As a player development coach, Chelsee strives for all of her players to reach their maximum playing potential through the physical and mental aspects of the game which inspired her to branch off and focus solely on basketball training development. She studies her players, addresses their strengths and weaknesses and works tirelessly to improve both. She also takes a keen interest in helping with the development and networking of coaches and trainers alike to create a more positive coaching experience that can help contribute to the wellbeing of players .