Kerry Blackshear Jr. (born January 28, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Hiroshima Dragonflies of the B.League. He played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida Gators.
 Blackshear with the Hiroshima Dragonflies in 2022 | |
| No. 8 – Hiroshima Dragonflies | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward |
| League | B.League |
| Personal information | |
| Born | January 28, 1997 Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
| Listed weight | 241 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Maynard Evans (Orlando, Florida) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Career history | |
| 2020–2021 | Hapoel Gilboa Galil |
| 2021–2022 | Galatasaray Nef |
| 2022–present | Hiroshima Dragonflies |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Early life
editBlackshear's father, Kerry Blackshear Sr., played in college at Stetson, where he was the second-leading scorer in program history and the 1994–95 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year before embarking on a professional career. His mother, Lamilia Ford Blackshear, is the third-leading rebounder for the Stetson women.[1] By the time the younger Blackshear reached high school at Maynard Evans in Orlando, Florida, he had been raised around the world and his game resembled a European big man.[2] Blackshear was regarded as a four-star prospect in the 2015 class, ranked by 247Sports as the 25th ranked power forward and 88th overall player.[3]
College career
editVirginia Tech
editAs a freshman at Virginia Tech, Blackshear posted 6.2 points per game off the bench. He was forced to redshirt his sophomore season due to a foot injury.[1] Blackshear averaged 12.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a redshirt sophomore for Virginia Tech.[3]
After roommate Justin Robinson went down with a foot injury on January 30, 2019, Blackshear picked up his production, scoring 29 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a win at Pittsburgh.[1] As a junior, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, shooting 50.8% from the field and 33.3% from behind the arc. He was named to the Second Team All-ACC. Blackshear helped lead Virginia Tech to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, contributing 18 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and two blocks in a narrow defeat to Duke. After the season he declared for the 2019 NBA draft. Blackshear withdrew from the draft shortly before the deadline but announced he was transferring from Virginia Tech. On June 26, 2019, he announced he would play at Florida in his final season of eligibility.[4]
Florida
edit
In his first game in a Florida uniform, Blackshear had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Gators defeated North Florida 74–59.[5] On January 4, 2020, Blackshear scored 24 points and had 16 rebounds in a 104–98 win over Alabama in double overtime, during which Florida overcame a 21-point deficit, the largest comeback in school history.[6] Blackshear sprained his left wrist during the season finale versus Kentucky. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Florida.[7] At the conclusion of the regular season, Blackshear was named to the Second Team All-SEC.[8]
Professional career
editHapoel Gilboa Galil
editOn August 9, 2020, Blackshear signed with Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Premier League.[9]
Galatasaray Nef
editOn August 24, 2021, he signed a one-year deal with Galatasaray Nef of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL), with the option of an additional season.[10]
Hiroshima Dragonflies
editOn July 12, 2022, he has signed with Hiroshima Dragonflies of the B.League.[11]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Virginia Tech | 35 | 5 | 19.2 | .553 | .235 | .558 | 4.5 | .6 | .5 | .4 | 6.2 |
| 2016–17 | Virginia Tech |  Redshirt
| ||||||||||
| 2017–18 | Virginia Tech | 33 | 32 | 25.2 | .558 | .306 | .747 | 5.9 | 1.2 | .8 | .9 | 12.5 |
| 2018–19 | Virginia Tech | 35 | 35 | 30.0 | .508 | .333 | .736 | 7.5 | 2.4 | .7 | .8 | 14.9 |
| 2019–20 | Florida | 31 | 31 | 27.2 | .436 | .305 | .792 | 7.5 | 1.6 | .6 | .6 | 12.8 |
| Career | 134 | 103 | 25.3 | .509 | .308 | .731 | 6.3 | 1.4 | .6 | .7 | 11.6 | |
References
edit- ^ a b c Berman, Mark (March 10, 2019). "Kerry Blackshear Jr. blossoms into Virginia Tech star". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Wood, Norm (January 23, 2016). "Blackshear, Robinson carve out big freshmen roles for Virginia Tech as it preps for No. 2 UNC". The Daily Press. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ a b Ramey, Grant (June 26, 2019). "Vols out of the race for Kerry Blackshear". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ Rollins, Khadrice (June 26, 2019). "Kerry Blackshear Jr. Transferring to Florida From Virginia Tech". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Blackshear gets double-double, No. 6 Florida beats UNF 74-59". ESPN. Associated Press. November 5, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
- ^ "Florida rallies from 21 points down, beats Alabama in 2OT". ESPN. Associated Press. January 4, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
- ^ "Florida's Kerry Blackshear may miss SEC tournament with sprained wrist". ESPN. Associated Press. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ "SEC announces 2020 Men's Basketball Awards" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 10, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
- ^ "Kerry Blackshear inks with Hapoel Galil Gilboa". Sportando. August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ^ "Kerry Blackshear Jr. Galatasaray NEF'te" (in Turkish). Galatasaray. August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
- ^ "Galatasaray'lı Kerry Blackshear'ın Yeni Durağı Japonya". Eurohoops. July 12, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
External links
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