Kerry Devon Blackshear Jr. (born January 28, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for Hiroshima Dragonflies of the

B.League The B.League is a men's professional basketball league in Japan. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA-affi ...

. He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

and the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

Early life

Blackshear's father, Kerry Blackshear Sr., played in college at

Stetson Stetson is an American brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company. "Stetson" is also used as a generic trademark to refer to any campaign hat, particularly in Scouting. John B. Stetson gained inspiration for his most famous ...

, 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. By the time the younger Blackshear reached high school at Maynard Evans in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, he had been raised around the world and his game resembled a European big man. Blackshear was regarded as a four-star prospect in the 2015 class, ranked by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

as the 25th ranked power forward and 88th overall player.

College career

Virginia Tech

As a freshman at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, Blackshear posted 6.2 points per game off the bench. He was forced to redshirt his sophomore season due to a foot injury. Blackshear averaged 12.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game as a redshirt sophomore for Virginia Tech. Kerry Blackshear

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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. 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 Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. After the season he declared for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

. 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.

Florida

In his first game in a Florida uniform, Blackshear had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Gators defeated

North Florida North Florida is a Regions of the United States#Florida, region of the U.S. state of Florida comprising the northernmost part of the state. Along with South Florida and Central Florida, it is one of Florida's three most common "directional" regi ...

74–59. On January 4, 2020, Blackshear scored 24 points and had 16 rebounds in a 104–98 win over

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in double overtime, during which Florida overcame a 21-point deficit, the largest comeback in school history. Blackshear sprained his left wrist during the season finale versus

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. He averaged 12.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Florida. At the conclusion of the regular season, Blackshear was named to the Second Team All- SEC.

Professional career

Hapoel Gilboa Galil

On August 9, 2020, Blackshear signed with

Hapoel Gilboa Galil Hapoel Gilboa Galil () is a professional basketball club that is based in north-east Israel. The club plays its home game in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (the top tier of Israeli basketball) in a 2,250-seat arena in Gan Ner. History T ...

of the

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

Galatasaray Nef

On August 24, 2021, he signed a one-year deal with Galatasaray Nef of the Turkish

Basketbol Süper Ligi The Basketball Super League (; TBSL), also known as the Türkiye Sigorta Basketbol Süper Ligi for sponsorship reasons, is the top men's professional basketball division of the Turkish basketball league system. It replaced the former Turkish Bas ...

(BSL), with the option of an additional season.

Hiroshima Dragonflies

On July 12, 2022, Blackshear signed with Hiroshima Dragonflies of the

. On May 24, 2023, he re- signed with Hiroshima Dragonflies. On June 6, 2024, he re- signed with Hiroshima Dragonflies.

Career statistics

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 5 , , 19.2 , , .553 , , .235 , , .558 , , 4.5 , , .6 , , .5 , , .4 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 25.2 , , .558 , , .306 , , .747 , , 5.9 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .9 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 30.0 , , .508 , , .333 , , .736 , , 7.5 , , 2.4 , , .7 , , .8 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 31 , , 31 , , 27.2 , , .436 , , .305 , , .792 , , 7.5 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .6 , , 12.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 134 , , 103 , , 25.3 , , .509 , , .308 , , .731 , , 6.3 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .7 , , 11.6

References

External links

Kerry Blackshear
at Proballers
Florida Gators bioVirginia Tech Hokies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackshear, Kerry Jr. 1997 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Israel American men's basketball players Basketball players from Orlando, Florida Florida Gators men's basketball players Galatasaray S.K. (men's basketball) players Hapoel Gilboa Galil players Hiroshima Dragonflies players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Power forwards Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen Maynard Evans High School alumni American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in Turkey