James Blackmon
#24
James Blackmon’s life came full circle in 2013 when the Giants’ all-time leading scorer became the boys’ basketball coach at his alma mater. Basketball has been part of Blackmon’s identity from the time he scored 62 points in a PAL Club game as a fourth-grader, and he has enjoyed great success as a player and coach.
Thirty years earlier, Blackmon wrapped up an incredible career for the Giants with 1,897 points, a school record that in 2014 still stands. As a senior, Blackmon scored 50 points against Anderson in the regular season and 52 on the Indians in the 1983 state semifinals. Blackmon finished second to Steve Alford in a high-profile Mr. Basketball race and was a Parade Magazine first-team All-American. He was also named to the 1983 Indiana All-Star team.
Blackmon was promoted to the varsity midway through his freshman season and became an integral part of Giants’ 1980 state final four team. Over the next three seasons, Blackmon helped lead the Giants to three North Central Conference titles and dazzled fans with his dunks and wide array of offensive skills.
A celebrated matchup between Alford and Blackmon attracted 10,000 fans to New Castle’s Chrysler Fieldhouse. Blackmon’s leaps and bounds always drew large crowds wherever he played in high school. Recruited by the University of Kentucky, Blackmon was part of the Wildcats’ NCAA Final Four team in 1984 and was drafted by the NBA’s New Jersey Nets in 1987 after completing college.
Blackmon played professionally for several years, including the Continental Basketball Association, and then went into high school coaching. His 2008 and ’09 Fort Wayne Luers teams won Class 2A boys’ basketball state titles.