Tom Gilbert, K-State Athletics
Former Kansas State All-American basketball player Rolando Blackman was among eight individuals announced Tuesday to the 10th class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Blackman, a two-time First Team All-American from 1977-81, was joined in the 2015 Hall of Fame induction class with fellow players Quinn Buckner (Indiana), John Havlicek (Ohio State), Ed Ratleff (Long Beach State) and Charlie Scott (North Carolina) and coaches Don Donoher (Dayton), C. Felton “Zip” Gayles (Langston) and Lou Henson (Hardin-Simmons/New Mexico State/Illinois). Blackman is the first men’s basketball player to be named to the Hall of Fame and the second with K-State ties, following legendary coach Tex Winter’s induction in 2010.
The 2015 induction ceremonies will be held Friday, November 20 at the Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland in Kansas City. General public tickets will be available online August 1. The ceremonies will be held in conjunction with the championship rounds of the 15th annual CBE Hall of Fame Classic, which takes place Nov. 23-24 at the Sprint Center and includes Kansas State, Missouri, North Carolina and Northwestern.
One of just two players to earn first team All-America honors in consecutive seasons, Blackman lettered four years for head coach Jack Hartman from 1977-81. He guided the Wildcats to an 80-41 (.661) record, two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including the 1981 Elite Elite, and the 1980 Big Eight Tournament title.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Blackman is one of just three players (joining Mike Evans and Lon Kruger) in Kansas State history to be named Big Eight Player of the Year (1980). He is also one of just three players to earn first team all-conference honors three times (joining the late Bob Boozer and Evans) in the program’s history. In addition, Blackman was named the Big Eight Defensive Player of the Year on three occasions (1978, 1979, 1980).
The school’s No. 3 all-time scorer with 1,844 points, Blackman was selected as a first team All-American as a senior in 1980-81 when he was named to the Helms Foundation, The Sporting News, Converse Yearbook and John R. Wooden Award All-American squads. He was also chosen first team All-American by the Helms Foundation and The Sporting News as a junior in 1979-80. In addition, he was named an All-American by Basketball Weekly (second team) and Basketball Times (second team) and The Associated Press (third team) in 1980.
Blackman still ranks among the Top 10 in 12 season and/or career statistical categories in school history, including second in career double-digit scoring games (100), career field goals made (755) and consecutive starts (102). He also ranks in the career Top 10 in games started (116/3rd), field goals attempted (1,460/4th), assists (320/6th), free throws attempted (466/7th) and 20-point games (27/9th). For his career, he averaged 15.2 points on 51.7 percent shooting (755-of-1,460) with 5.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in 121 career games.
One of six Wildcats to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, Blackman was originally selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the ninth overall pick in 1981. He went on to play 13 seasons in the NBA – 11 with the Mavericks (1981-92) and two with the New York Knicks (1992-94). The four-time NBA All-Star is the Mavericks’ second-leading scorer with 16,643 points and appears in the top 10 in 18 different statistical categories. Among Maverick leaders, he is second behind current star Dirk Nowitzki in field goals (6,487), field goal attempts (13,061) and starts (781). He still owns many franchise regular season, playoff and rookie records, including consecutive games without fouling out (865). He had his No. 22 jersey retired by the franchise on March 11, 2000.
A member of the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame, Blackman was named to the 13-member Kansas State All-Century men’s basketball team in 2003, while his No. 25 jersey was retired by the school in 2007.
Blackman currently resides in Dallas, where he is in his sixth season as the Director of Basketball Development for the Mavericks, where he has a range of duties, including global scouting, sponsor relations, community representation and player development. He has served as an assistant coach at the FIBA World Championships on two occasions, leading Germany to a bronze medal in 2002 and Turkey to a silver medal in 2010.
