James Blackmon Jr.

James Blackmon Jr.
No. 1 – Indiana Hoosiers
Blackmon in the 2014 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
Position	Shooting guard
League	Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born	(1995-04-24) April 24, 1995 Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight	195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school	Bishop Luers (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Marion (Marion, Indiana)
College	Indiana (2014–present)
Career highlights and awards
Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2015) McDonald's High School All-American (2014) Parade All-American (2014)

James Blackmon Jr. (born April 25, 1995) is an American college basketball player who is currently in his junior season with 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]

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
James Blackmon Jr. G	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]

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.^[11]^[12]

College statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2014–15	Indiana	33	33	30.0	.420	.387	.806	5.3	1.5	0.7	.1	15.7
2015–16	Indiana	13	12	24.5	.480	.463	.852	4.2	1.6	1.2	.38	15.8
2016–17	Indiana
Career		46	45	27.2	.450	.425	.829	4.7	1.5	0.9	.2	15.7

Source:^[13]

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 three brothers, Vijay, Jalen and Nazeon

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Blackmon.

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