Ronald Blackshear Jr. (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in leagues in the United States, Cyprus, Argentina, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Romania. Blackshear is best known for his collegiate career in the United States, however, where he was a standout player for

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

in 2001–02 and 2002–03. He then declared for the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

as an early entry candidate upon the conclusion of his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

season, but after going undrafted he began his international career.

College career

Blackshear did not graduate high school until age 20. He had committed to play basketball for

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

, but since he did not meet

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility requirements, he spent one additional prep year at

Hargrave Military Academy Hargrave Military Academy (HMA) is a private school, private, all-male, Military school, military boarding school located in the town of Chatham, Virginia. Hargrave is affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia emphasizing Chr ...

Chatham, Virginia Chatham is a town in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Pittsylvania County. Chatham's population was 1,232 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Danville, Virginia metropolitan area. The town was originally ...

. After eight games playing for the academy, Blackshear was kicked off due to repeatedly violating team rules. He returned home, but after more complications with Clemson, Blackshear instead enrolled at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

to play for John Chaney. Chaney and Blackshear did not get along, and after playing in just 10 games, he left the school. Two months later he found himself enrolled at

. Blackshear matured at Marshall and played successfully for the Thundering Herd during his

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

and junior seasons. In just two years at the school he scored exactly 1,000 points, with season averages of 19.6 and 20.3 points per game, respectively. Known as an accurate and prolific shooter, Blackshear made 189

three-point field goal A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...

s, good for fourth most in Marshall history at the time of his graduation. He once tied an NCAA record by making 11 consecutive three-point attempts in a game and finished with the second-most made of all-time (14). Both feats occurred in a game against

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

on March 1, 2002.

Professional career

For a time during Blackshear's junior year in college he was projected to be a first round draft pick in the

, but this ultimately turned out to be a false project since he did not get chosen at all that year. His professional career began in the summer of 2004 in Venezuela. He then played in Argentina for Estudiantes Olavarria, then finished the rest of the 2004–05 season with the

Huntsville Flight Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 r ...

in the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. Blackshear split the 2005–06 season between EKA AEL Limassol in Cyprus and the D-League's

Tulsa 66ers Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa ...

. After summer 2006 in which he played for Marineros de Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, Blackshear headed to Romania for the 2006–07 with CSU Atlassib Sibiu. His final two seasons of professional basketball included another stint in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico before last playing in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackshear, Ronald 1978 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Argentina American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Mexico American expatriate basketball people in Romania American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela American men's basketball players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Fuerza Regia de Monterrey players Huntsville Flight players Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball players People from Camilla, Georgia Shooting guards Temple Owls men's basketball players Tulsa 66ers players Hargrave Military Academy alumni

College career

Professional career

See also

References