DeJuan Blair
 Blair warming up before a game against the Orlando Magic. | |
| No. 45 – San Antonio Spurs | |
|---|---|
| Position | Forward-Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born | April 22, 1989 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Schenley High School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| College | Pittsburgh |
| NBA draft | 2009: 2nd round, 37th overall pick |
| Selected by the San Antonio Spurs | |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an All-American professional basketball player who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before turning pro Blair played center for the University of Pittsburgh men's basketball team from 2007 to 2009.[1][2] After an outstanding sophomore season he entered the 2009 NBA Draft where he was selected in the second round, 37th overall by the Spurs.
Early years
The oldest of four children (one of whom died in infancy), Blair grew up in Pittsburgh's Hill District, 600 yards (550 m)* from the Pitt campus.[3] Although he was the smallest of his siblings at birth, he was the largest child in his class by the time he started school. Both of his parents played basketball at Schenley High School, which was located in North Oakland/Schenley Heights until 2008, and his uncle ran the nearby Ammons Recreation Center, where he learned to play the game.[3]
High school career
Blair played as a four-year starter at Schenley High. While there he scored 1,563 career points and finished with an overall 103–16 team record, including a 57–0 record within the Pittsburgh City League. He was named the AP player of the state and made first team all state his junior and senior year. Blair led Schenley to the 2007 PIAA Class 4A state championship, the first state title for a City League team since 1978; in the final against Chester (and his future Pitt teammate Nasir Robinson), he had 18 points, 23 rebounds, and 6 blocked shots.[3] He was also named Pittsburgh City League Player of the year three times.
Blair also played in the summer leagues at Pittsburgh's Kennard Park and played a championship game in which his team played against a team led by future Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who was also a highly regarded basketball prospect.[3]
After various surgeries in high school, Blair was left without any anterior cruciate ligaments in his knees.[4]
Recruiting
Blair was heavily recruited coming out of high school. Besides Pitt, other schools pursuing him included Florida, Kansas State, Indiana, Marquette, Miami, West Virginia, Wake Forest and Tennessee.
His parents admitted that if they had their way, Blair would have gone to Tennessee because they liked the Volunteers' coach Bruce Pearl, and thought it would be a good idea for their son to leave the city. Blair himself had problems making up his mind; while considering as many as 18 different scholarship offers, he was so confused that one day he threw his cell phone across a room, breaking it.[3]
However, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon recognized the importance of Blair's maternal grandmother, Donna Saddler, who had played a major role in his upbringing, and on the first day he was allowed to contact Blair, he called Saddler, asking to come to her house. She told Dixon that they were having a family reunion at the house that day, and invited him to come, which he did. When Dixon was down to his last scholarship in the 2007 recruiting cycle, he called her, telling her that Blair would need to take the scholarship at that time. In the end, Saddler made the decision for him, telling him "Pitt is it." She liked Dixon and the proximity of her home to the school. Also, she was well aware that Pitt would be losing starting center Aaron Gray to graduation, which would have made Blair a likely candidate to start if he attended. He officially announced his decision to attend Pitt at the Ammons Recreation Center, where his basketball journey began, and became the first City League player to play for Pitt since Darelle Porter from 1987–1991.[3]
College career
2007–2008
Blair became the starter during his freshman year. He made the All-American Freshman team, helping the Panthers win the Big East Conference tournament and securing a four seed in the NCAA tournament. The Panthers won their first round game against Oral Roberts but lost in the second round to fifth seed Michigan State.
2008–2009
In the 2008–2009 season, Blair helped Pittsburgh earn a number one seed in the NCAA tournament. The Panthers were 20–1 whenever Blair had a double-double,[citation needed] the sole loss was to Villanova in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. When he didn't have a double-double the Panthers were 6–4.[citation needed] At the time an unnamed scout from the Phoenix Suns predicted that if Blair developed a better mid-range shot his stock in the draft would skyrocket.[2]
Blair and Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet shared co-Big East Player of the Year awards for the 2008–2009 season. He was a consensus First team All-American selection by the Associated Press, USBWA and The Sporting News. He also made the NABC's second team[5][6] and finished tied for second with Tyler Hansborough (2 votes each)[7] for the 2009 AP college basketball player of the year, an award which was won by the eventual 1st overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft Blake Griffin (66 votes). Blair declared his intentions to enter the 2009 NBA Draft on April 7, at the time he mentioned that he had not hired an agent.[8] However in a news conference the following day he announced he would be hiring an agent, forgoing any chance of returning to the school next year.[9]
Impact on the city of Pittsburgh
Blair is known not only for his basketball prowess[who?], but also for his outsized personality
 | This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information. (March 2010) |
. His grandmother said that as a boy, he "didn't want to hurt the other kids" while playing basketball. ESPN columnist Dana O'Neil wrote about him, "He is a people collector, attracting fans and friends as he walks through his neighborhood, across campus and on the court."[3] Blair is one of the most recognizable people in the city[who?]; his uncle Michael Smith, who taught him to play basketball, recently[when?] said,
You ride through here with him, you get tired of beeping the horn. Everybody likes him. I can't explain how much he means to people around here. I liked the other schools and coaches he was looking at, but what did they have that he couldn't get in his own backyard? I told him he had the chance to change the face of an entire city. I truly believe that he can and he will.[3]
After the 2008–09 season, Dixon launched a program in which Pitt players will mentor children from the Hill District. He saw Blair's presence as a perfect opportunity to start the program — "We've been talking about doing it for a long time. But now is the perfect time. If we can't get it going with this guy, when can we?" For his own part, Blair has said, "Someone once said to me that I'm doing for the city of Pittsburgh what Barack [Obama] is doing for the United States. I didn't even know what to say. That's just crazy."[3]
Blair is the first NBA player to come out of the city since Danny Fortson in 1997, and the first to be born and play both high school and, city, college in the city since Mel Bennett in the 1970s. (Fortson spent most of his youth in Altoona, Pennsylvania before moving to Pittsburgh during his high school career.)[3]
College statistics
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NBA
On June 25, 2009 Blair was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round with 37th overall pick. His stock fell because of questions surrounding his durability and knee surgeries. Blair signed with the Spurs within weeks of the draft on July 17.[11] Blair made his NBA debut in game 1 against the New Orleans Hornets, he finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds[12] ranking second in ESPN's "Top 50" Rookie Ranking.[13]
On January 13, 2010, Blair became the first rookie in Spurs history to record a 20–20 (at least 20 of any two statistical categories) since Tim Duncan, when he finished with 28 points and 21 rebounds (10 offensive rebounds) in a 109–108 overtime win against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was also the first time in 29 years that a rookie who was not drafted in the first round of the draft recorded a 20&ndash20.[14] Blair recorded his second 20–20 of the season in the Spurs' final regular season game when he recorded 27 points and 23 rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks.[14]
Blair also participated in the Rookie Challenge wherein he showed a strong performance especially in the first half, when he made a dunk from the backboard, a trick shot in the final minutes of the game, and tallied 22 points, and 23 rebounds, becoming the first player to have a 20–20 game in a Rookie Challenge and setting a Rookie Challenge record for rebounds. He won the Rookie Challenge MVP when Tyreke Evans shared it with him.
On April 29, 2010 Blair was involved in a single car accident en route to a playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks. Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland picked Blair up and transported him to the At&T Center for examination.
On April 30, 2010 Blair was named to the 2009–10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
NBA statistics
| 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 |
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | San Antonio | 82 | 23 | 18.2 | .556 | .000 | .547 | 6.4 | .8 | .2 | .3 | 7.8 |
| Career | 82 | 23 | 18.2 | .556 | .000 | .547 | 6.4 | .8 | .2 | .3 | 7.8 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | San Antonio | 10 | 0 | 9.1 | .500 | .000 | .556 | 3.9 | .5 | .5 | .4 | 3.7 |
| Career | 10 | 0 | 9.1 | .500 | .000 | .556 | 3.9 | .5 | .5 | .4 | 3.7 |
- As of the end of the 2009–10 NBA season
References
- ^ [1] Profile on the University's athletic site
- ^ a b Gladysz, Mike (2-24). "As Blair Thrives, NBA dreams become a possibility" ([dead link]). The Pitt News. pp. 10–11.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=and|year=/|date=mismatch (help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j O'Neil, Dana (2009-01-28). "Just a short walk from home, local boy Blair makes good with Panthers". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.slate.com/id/2234460/
- ^ "USBWA > All-America". United States Basketball Writers Association. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Sporting News 2008-09 College Basketball All-Americans". Sporting News. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ "Oklahoma's Griffin is AP's player of the year". rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ "Underclassmen tracker". rivals.com. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ "Pitt's Blair declares for NBA draft". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
- ^ [2] Profile on ESPN.com
- ^ Fittipaldo, Ray (2009-07-17). "Blair, Spurs reach a deal". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Monroe, Mike (2009-10-29). "Spurs show off deep rotation in opener". Express News. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ Thorpe, David (October 2009). "2009-10 NBA Rookie Class: Top 50". ESPN. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ a b Fittipaldo, Ray (May 24, 2010). "Blair seeking more playing time". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 24, 2010.