James Blackmon Jr.

James Blackmon Jr. (born April 25, 1995) is an American basketball player for Aquila Basket Trento of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.

James Blackmon Jr.
Blackmon in January 2020
No. 1 – Aquila Basket Trento
PositionShooting guard
LeagueLega Basket Serie A
EuroCup
Personal information
Born (1995-04-25) April 25, 1995
Chicago, Illinois
NationalityAmerican
Listed height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight91 kg (201 lb)
Career information
High school
CollegeIndiana (2014–2017)
NBA draft2017 / Undrafted
Playing career2017–present
Career history
2017–2018Delaware 87ers
2018Wisconsin Herd
2018–2019VL Pesaro
2019–presentAquila Basket Trento
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Blackmon played three years at Bishop Luers High School and his senior year at Marion High School. In his senior season, he averaged 33.4 points and 4.2 three-pointers (47%),[1] and broke his father's school record by scoring 54 points in a game. He ranks #9 on Indiana's all-time scoring list.[2] He was ranked the 20th best player in the class by ESPN and was recruited heavily by Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan State.[3] He originally committed to Indiana before his freshman season, but reopened his recruitment before his senior season.[4] His final verbal commitment to Indiana was televised live on ESPNU.[5] He scored 13 points in the McDonald's All-American Game and won the three-point contest.[6] He also scored 23 in the Jordan Brand Classic.[7] He finished third in Indiana Mr. Basketball voting, behind Trey Lyles and Trevon Bluiett.[8]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
James Blackmon Jr.
G		 Marion, IN Marion HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 31, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 32   Rivals: 22  247Sports: 12  ESPN: 20
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Indiana Commit List for 2014". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  • "Indiana Hoosiers". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2014-08-21.

    College career

    Freshman year

    During Indiana's five-game preseason Canada trip, Blackmon led the team in scoring with 18.8 points, despite focusing mainly on his defense. As a freshman, he earned the starting spot in the backcourt alongside Yogi Ferrell.[9] He averaged 15.7 points per game, the sixth best average for any freshman in the country. He ranked second on the team in both scoring and rebounding (5.3). Blackmon was a prolific three-point shooter, breaking Eric Gordon's Indiana freshman record with 77 three-point field goals made. He earned Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, a unanimous spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice.[10]

    Sophomore year

    Blackmon Jr. had a strong first two months, setting career-highs in field goal percentage (.480) and three-point field goal percentage (.463), until a right knee injury ended his season. Blackmon underwent surgery in January 2016,[11] his second knee surgery in a span of just six months - he had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his other knee before the season.[12] He finished his sophomore campaign averaging 15.8 points in just thirteen total games. Indiana went 15-3 in the Big Ten season in his absence, winning an outright league title in the process.

    Junior year
    Blackmon in March 2017

    On November 14, 2016, Blackmon Jr. was named National Player of the Week by NBCSports.com and Big Ten Co-Player of the Week.[13][14] He averaged 17.3 points per game on a team that went 19-16. After the end of his junior year, he decided to enter the 2017 NBA draft.[15]

    College statistics
    Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    2014–15 Indiana 333330.0.420.387.8065.31.50.6.115.7
    2015–16 Indiana 131224.5.480.463.8524.21.71.2.415.8
    2016–17 Indiana 303030.5.477.423.8374.81.9.7.017.0
    Career 767529.3.452.415.8244.91.70.8.116.3

    Source:[16]

    Professional career

    Blackmon signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers on June 23, 2017. After some successful performances with the team during the 2017 NBA Summer League, he signed a training camp contract with them on August 30 that same year. He was waived in the preseason on October 14, 2017.[17]

    On January 26, 2018, Blackmon was traded by the Delaware 87ers to the Wisconsin Herd in exchange for Shannon Brown and Cameron Oliver.[18]

    He signed with VL Pesaro of the Lega Basket Serie A on August 6, 2018.[19]

    On July 19, 2019, he has signed with Aquila Basket Trento of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). [20]

    Family

    Blackmon's father, James Blackmon Sr., was drafted into the NBA after an outstanding career at Kentucky. He now coaches at Marion. His father is of African-American descent, while his mother Sailaja is of Indian descent. Blackmon has two brothers: Vijay, who was a walk-on for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball basketball team, and now is a member of the Lindenwood University men's basketball team, and Jalen, who plays for Marion.

    References
    1. http://www.maxpreps.com/athlete/james-blackmon/aPVWYkdFEeOZXQAmVebBJg/gendersport/basketball-stats.htm
    2. http://www.ihsaa.org/sports/boys/basketball/scoringrecords/tabid/133/default.aspx
    3. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/117563/james-blackmon-jr
    4. http://www.insidethehall.com/2014/06/18/freshman-focus-james-blackmon-jr/#more-39598
    5. "Indiana lands No. 4 SG James Blackmon". ESPN.com. 2013-11-04.
    6. Helfgot, Mike (2014-03-31). "Alexander on Kansas: 'I wouldn't mind staying two years'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
    7. http://jordanbrandclassic.com/images/stories/docs/2014/2014nationalboxscore.pdf%5B%5D
    8. http://indiana.247sports.com/Article/Release-Indiana-signee-James-Blackmon-Jr-an-Indiana-All-Star-187831
    9. http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2014/08/13/indianas-james-blackmon-jr-stakes-claim-starting-spot-alongside-yogi-ferrell/14024229/
    10. http://btn.com/2015/03/09/view-2015-all-big-ten-mens-basketball-teams-honors/
    11. http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2016/01/05/ius-james-blackmon-jr-undergo-surgery-injured-right-knee/78310292/
    12. https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/07/14/james-blackmon-jr-injury-knee-surgery-indiana-hoosiers
    13. IUHoosiers - Blackmon Jr.
    14. Blackmon player of the week
    15. Norlander, Matt (May 7, 2017). "2017 NBA Draft: James Blackmon Jr. won't return to Indiana, staying in draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
    16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2015-05-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
    17. "Sixers Waive Three Players". NBA.com. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
    18. "Delaware 87ers acquire two-time NBA champ Shannon Brown and Cameron Oliver". NBA.com. January 28, 2018. Archived from the original on January 26, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
    19. "James Blackmon jr signs with VL Pesaro". Sportando. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
    20. "James Blackmon Jr. signs with Trento". Sportando. July 19, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
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