Wayne Fitzgerald Blackshear (born February 11, 1992) is an American former 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. He played college basketball for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

High school and college career

Blackshear played basketball for

Curie Metropolitan High School Marie Sklodowska Curie Metropolitan High School is a public four-year magnet high school located in the Archer Heights neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Curie is operated by Chicago Public Schools district. ...

before transferring to crosstown rival

Morgan Park High School Morgan Park High School is a four-year public high school and middle school located in the Morgan Park, Chicago, Morgan Park neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1916, Morgan Park is a part o ...

. He earned 2010 and 2011 first team All-State recognition from the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', and was 2011 ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' Sun-Times Player of the Year. He was a 2011

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

and a ''Parade'' All-American. Between 2011 and 2015, Blackshear 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

. As a sophomore in 2012–13, he helped the Cardinals win the

2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2012– ...

. As a senior in 2014–15, Blackshear earned second-team

Academic All-American An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the ...

honors and averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 32 games.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2015 NBA draft The 2015 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2015, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. It was televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eli ...

, Blackshear played for the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

in the Orlando and Las Vegas NBA Summer Leagues. For the 2015–16 season, Blackshear moved to Italy to play for Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia in the Italian first division. In 31 games, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. After playing for the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

during the 2016 Orlando Summer League, Blackshear returned to Italy for the 2016–17 season, this time with Unieuro Forlì in the Italian second division. Due to a knee injury, he played only 14 games for Forlì. He averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Between December 22, 2017, and January 6, 2018, Blackshear played four games in Lebanon with

Byblos Club Byblos Club is a multi sports club based in Byblos, Lebanon. The franchise was established in 1981, and such notable players as Jay Youngblood, Michael Fraser, Bassel Bawji, Ali Mahmoud, Rodrigue Akl, Ratko Varda, Steven Burtt, Joseph Vogel, N ...

. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. For the 2018–19 season, Blackshear moved to Finland to play for the

Helsinki Seagulls The Helsinki Seagulls are a professional basketball team, based in Helsinki, Finland. The club plays in the Korisliiga, the highest tier of basketball in Finland. The Seagulls were founded in 2013 and made its debut in the Korisliiga in 2014, aft ...

. In 24 games, he averaged 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. For the 2019–20 season, Blackshear joined the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

of the

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

. On February 18, 2020, Blackshear signed with the

Franklin Bulls The Franklin Bulls are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Pukekohe. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball League (NBL), playing their home games at the Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre, known as the Stockyard. Team hi ...

in New Zealand for the 2020 NBL season. On July 28, 2020, Blackshear signed with

Spójnia Stargard Spójnia Stargard, also known as shortly Spójnia, is a professional Poland, Polish basketball team based in Stargard, Poland, currently (as of 2022) playing in the Polish Basketball League (PLK), the highest tier in Polish basketball. Spójnia ho ...

of the PLK. In five games, Blackshear averaged 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On October 25, 2020, he parted ways with the team. On October 23, 2021, Blackshear signed with the

Maine Celtics The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

. He did not make the team's final roster. On December 31, 2021, Blackshear was acquired by the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau County ...

. However, he was removed from the team on January 19, 2022.

Maine Celtics (2022)

On February 11, Blackshear was acquired by the

. He was then later waived on February 27, 2022.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio2015 NBA Summer League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackshear, Wayne 1992 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Helsinki Seagulls players Long Island Nets players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Maine Red Claws players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pistoia Basket 2000 players Shooting guards Small forwards 21st-century American sportsmen Byblos Club players