James Blackmon Jr.

James Blackmon Jr. (born April 25, 1995) is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers. He is known for his shooting range and accuracy.

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

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 has been declared to enter the 2017 NBA Draft

College statistics

Source:^[15]

NBA career

Philadelphia 76ers

Blackmon signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers on June 23, 2017.

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. The younger Blackmon has two brothers, Vijay and Jalen.

See also

2014–15 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team
2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team
2016–17 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Blackmon.