James Blackmon Sr. facts for kids
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Marion High School |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | August 7, 1964 Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| Playing career | |
| 1983–1987 | Kentucky |
| 1992 | Winnipeg Thunder |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2000–2003 | University of Saint Francis (IN) (Assistant) |
| 2004–2012 | Bishop Luers HS |
| 2013–present | Marion HS |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 146–63 |
James Blackmon Sr. was born on August 7, 1964. He is a well-known American basketball coach and a former college and high school player. Blackmon has led two different high school teams to state championships in Indiana. He won back-to-back Class 2A titles in 2008 and 2009. He also won the Class 3A championship in 2016.
Blackmon played college basketball for the University of Kentucky Wildcats. When he was a senior at Marion High School, he was a runner-up for the "Indiana Mr. Basketball" award. This award goes to the best high school basketball player in Indiana. Blackmon was also chosen for the McDonald's All-American and Parade All-American teams because he was such a great high school player.
Coaching Basketball Teams
James Blackmon Sr. has had a very successful career coaching high school basketball. He has coached at two different high schools in Indiana, helping their teams achieve great success.
Coaching at Bishop Luers High School
Blackmon became the head coach at Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for the 2004-2005 season. Before he arrived, the team had a tough time, winning only 7 games in the two seasons before he took over. Blackmon quickly changed things around for the boys' basketball team.
During his time at Bishop Luers, the Knights won two state basketball championships. They also won five sectional championships, which are important local tournaments. On top of that, they won three conference tournament titles and two regular season conference championships.
One of the famous players Blackmon coached at Bishop Luers was Deshaun Thomas. Deshaun was named "Indiana Mr. Basketball" in 2010. He is also the third-highest scorer in Indiana high school basketball history!
The Bishop Luers Knights won the Summit Athletic Conference holiday tournament for the first time ever in the 2007-2008 season. This was the first of three straight tournament wins for them. They then went on to win the Class 2A Indiana high school basketball championship in both 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
Blackmon's teams won five sectional titles in a row from 2006-2007 to 2009-2010, and again in 2012-2013. In May 2011, Blackmon decided to leave Bishop Luers to coach at his old high school, Marion. However, he later changed his mind and stayed at Bishop Luers for a bit longer. In April 2013, he finally left Bishop Luers to take the coaching job at Marion High School.
Coaching at Marion High School
In 2011, James Blackmon Sr. was first offered the head coach position at Marion High School. This was a big deal because Marion is his old school, and it has a very rich history in Indiana high school basketball. They have won the second-most state titles in Indiana history! However, Blackmon decided to stay at Bishop Luers at that time.
But in 2013, the opportunity came up again. On April 24, 2013, the school board at Marion voted to offer him the job once more. This time, Blackmon accepted! He explained that the first time, there were some issues with how the decision was made. But this time, the vote was unanimous, and everyone was very happy to welcome him.
At Marion, Blackmon has coached his own sons, James Blackmon Jr. and Vijay Blackmon.
James Blackmon Sr.'s Coaching Records
Here's a look at James Blackmon Sr.'s coaching record at Bishop Luers High School and Marion High School.
Bishop Luers High School Coaching Record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Luers High School (Summit Athletic Conference) (2004–2012) | |||||||||
| 2004/05 | Bishop Luers | 12–9 | 7–2 | 2nd | Lost in Sectional first round | ||||
| 2005/06 | Bishop Luers | 11–9 | 3–6 | Tied for 7th | Lost in Sectional first round | ||||
| 2006/07 | Bishop Luers | 16–7 | 5–4 | 5th | Won Sectional championship | ||||
| 2007/08 | Bishop Luers | 24–3 | 7–2 | Tied for 2nd | Won Class 2A state championship | ||||
| 2008/09 | Bishop Luers | 23–4 | 8–1 | 2nd | Won Class 2A state championship | ||||
| 2009/10 | Bishop Luers | 14–10 | 5–4 | Tied for 3rd | Won Sectional championship | ||||
| 2010/11 | Bishop Luers | 17–5 | 7–1 | Tied for 1st | Lost in Sectional championship | ||||
| 2011/12 | Bishop Luers | 13–9* | 6–1 | 1st | Lost in Sectional championship | ||||
| 2012/13 | Bishop Luers | 16–7 | 4–3 | 4th | Won Sectional championship | ||||
| Bishop Luers: | 146–63 | 52–24 |
* – Blackmon missed one game in the 2011-2012 season due to a suspension. The team won that game, and finished the season 14-9. Marion High School Coaching Record |
||||||
| Marion High School (North Central Conference) (2013–present) | |||||||||
| 2013/14 | Marion | 18–5 | 4–3 | 2nd | Lost in Sectional semifinals | ||||
| 2014/15 | Marion | 15–10 | 5–4 | 2nd | Lost in Sectional first round | ||||
| 2015/16 | Marion | 23–7 | 5–3 | Won Class 4A state championship | |||||
| 2016/17 | Marion | 10–13 | 4–5 | Lost in Sectional first round | |||||
| 2017/18 | Marion | 20–7 | 6–3 | Won Sectional championship | |||||
| 2018/19 | Marion | 19–8 | 7–2 | Won Regional championship | |||||
| 2019/20 | Marion | 12–11 | 6–3 | ||||||
| Marion: | 117–61 | 37–23 | |||||||
| Total: | 263–124 | ||||||||
|
National champion Conference regular season champion Conference tournament champion |
|||||||||
Playing Basketball
Before becoming a coach, James Blackmon Sr. was a talented basketball player himself.
Professional Playing Career
The New Jersey Nets picked Blackmon in the 5th round of the 1987 NBA draft. He was the 94th player chosen overall. However, he never played in an NBA game.
College Playing Career
Blackmon played college basketball for the University of Kentucky Wildcats from 1983 to 1987. He was a valuable player right from the start. In his freshman year (1983-1984), he was one of only five Wildcats who played in all 34 games that season.
High School Playing Career
Blackmon had an amazing high school basketball career.
- He scored 1,897 points in his high school career. This is one of the best totals in Indiana boys' high school history.
- In the 1983 McDonald's Boys All-American Game, Blackmon scored 21 points. He was one of the top scorers for the winning West team.
- In 2008, he was chosen as a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Silver Anniversary team. This team honors great players from 25 years ago.
Senior Year (1982-1983)
- Blackmon scored 914 points during his senior season. This is the 10th best single-season total in Indiana boys' high school history.
- He led the Marion Giants to a regional championship. They also made it to the state championship semi-finals.
- In his last game, Blackmon scored 52 points! This set a state finals tournament record that still stands today. Even though he scored so many points, his team lost a high-scoring game.
