Cameron Black was in pain. He had thought all of the wincing was done, but this was another thing out of his control.

It was his junior year of high school when doctors discovered a slight deformity with the navicular bone in his left foot. It left Black in a boot for 30 days to try to repair it. By the time the foot came out of the boot, the muscles atrophied. It left everyone -- from Black to college coaches -- with questions.

So while he played on it, averaging 10 points and 10 rebounds, potential scholarships drifted off. Taking a chance on a big man with an injury was an understandable concern for college coaches.

One coach stuck by Black. Bowling Green’s Louis Orr.

Orr’s dedication paid off. Black is healthy and will likely start for the Falcons tonight against Michigan at Crisler Arena in the first game of the Legends Classic (7 p.m., Big Ten Network).

“He was tremendous,” Black’s father, also named Cameron, said. “Coach Orr, first of all, recognized his potential as a skill player and being 6-10 didn’t hurt either. We talked extensively about his condition.

“There was no further damage that could be done or anything surgery could correct. Coach Orr saw him as a very high IQ basketball player and skilled for his size.”

The foot wasn't Black's first pain problem.

Within a year at Kent (Ohio) Roosevelt High, the younger Black grew from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-8.

On the court, it meant he went from guard to forward to eventually a 6-foot-10, 230-pound freshman center averaging 9.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his first two college games.

Off the court, though, there were problems. Black's body ached as it adjusted to its new height. The growth surge left him in constant pain.

“For the most part, yeah,” the younger Black said. “You just learn to deal with it. It just goes away now and I can’t feel anything.”

By his senior year in high school, Black felt healthy. He averaged 16.4 points, 13.2 rebounds and 6 blocks having fully adjusted to his height, playing with two feet that worked properly and without pain for the first time since he was a middle school guard.

It was when Black reached Bowling Green, though, that his true skill set came through.

Having the growth spurt -- something his father, who was also his high school coach, predicted -- allowed Black to learn guard and post skills. During Black’s sophomore year of his school, the elder Black said, his son was his team’s second-best 3-point shooter.

Now he’s a big post player.

“He’s not the type of 6-10 player that you’d expect, that you'll see go in there and bump everything,” Bowling Green junior guard Scott Thomas said. “He’s more of a finesse player. He can make the extra pass, put the ball on the floor. He can make a jump shot.

“He has a skill set more of an old school type of a big man. He’s not like a Dwight Howard but more of a passer-type big man.”

That doesn’t mean he can’t play inside. His ability in the paint is the one thing that stuck out to Michigan coach John Beilein.

Through his team’s exhibition against Division II Saginaw Valley State and a season-opener against USC Upstate, the Wolverines frontcourt hasn’t faced a player with Black’s skill set.

And while it’ll be inexperience vs. inexperience down low, it’ll be the first true post test for Michigan's Jordan Morgan, Blake McLimans and Jon Horford.

“He’s a strong guy,” Beilein said. “He’s going to get rebounds just because he’s a space eater.

“We’ve got to play with our feet around him to make sure we can establish some leverage with him when he has the ball and when he doesn’t have the ball.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.