Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Blackmon brings scoring, character to GCU
11/11/2020 2:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Guard hails from basketball family, averaged 30 points as junior
Jalen Blackmon is an Indiana basketball scoring machine from a basketball family.
Blackmon found the right coach in Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who once fit that same description, and his program fit with GCU. The 6-foot-3 Marion High School combo guard and ESPN four-star recruit signed Wednesday to play for the Lopes.
Blackmon threatened to make a run at the Indiana high school career scoring record with a 29.8 scoring average last season when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. Drew and his GCU staff showed no hesitation in recruiting Blackmon, knowing his work ethic and respectful ways.
The senior has rehabilitated to 100% with the support of a father (James Sr.) who is his Marion coach and a former pro player, a mother (Saija) who is a doctor and brothers (James Jr. and Vijay) who played collegiately and came back from the same injury.
"Coach Drew just let me know from Day 1 that he wants me to come in and get buckets," Jalen said. "That's really important to me, coming in and being able to play right off the bat and be an instant-impact guy.
"Coach Drew was in the NBA for six years and has coached all these great guys and, when I committed, he was really excited. That was shocking to me. It meant the world."
Like the Drew basketball family tree, Jalen grew up immersed in the game. James Sr. was an Indiana Mr. Basketball runner-up to Steve Alford and a McDonald's All-American who played at Kentucky. James Sr., a school conflict mediator, was a Nets fifth-round draft pick and played in the CBA and World Basketball League for nine years.
James Jr. is a pro player in Turkey who also was a McDonald's All-American and played at Indiana, where Vijay walked on before moving to Lindenwood as a graduate transfer.
"Jalen is from a basketball family and he's a prolific scorer with a very high basketball IQ," Drew said. "He's going to be a tremendous fit on our campus. He's a 3.8 student. With the returning players, he's going to complement them really well.
"We look for his impact to be immediate for us with the experience he's had playing Indiana high school basketball and working out his whole life against his brothers. His value will come in many ways on the court, but also many ways off the court. He has extremely high character and he's an excellent student. Our campus is going to love having him here."
With an indoor basketball court at their home, Jalen's path to GCU began as a kindergartner who would put up 1,000 shots per day with a regulation-height hoop and a regulation-size ball that he sometimes took to bed.
"I've always worked on basketball a crazy amount," Jalen said. "I've gotten a crazy amount better since I tore my ACL. I'm just looking to do little things like waking up and stretching, lifting weights. I've gained 18 pounds of all muscle (to 177 pounds). I've worked on my athleticism. My brother, James, is home and he's really teaching me how to train like a pro and not just go out there to make 1,000 shots."
Jalen was amid a 36-point game when he suffered the injury, but his game is well-rounded as a passer too. He was averaging 6.3 assists as a junior while shooting 51% from the field and 37% on 3-pointers.
"I'm very unselfish," Jalen said. "I can score the ball, but I can also get my teammates involved. That's really important to me. I'm going to play as hard as I can for them every day.
"I've matured as a point guard, being able to see how to get my teammates open shots and create for myself. From playing for my dad, I've become a better talker and leader."
He sees a similar ability to learn at a high level from Drew, but with the perks of playing at a GCU Arena that ordinarily is full each game and enjoying sunny Phoenix weather that was "the icing on the cake."
"My family is extremely excited for me to play for Coach Drew because of how much he knows about the game and how much I can learn from him," Blackmon said. "I know Coach Drew is going to let me play through mistakes but also make the best player I can be.
"I also liked how the community is really into basketball and all the students are really into it. The people who are around the program are high-level people."
Blackmon's other finalists were Central Florida, Houston, Murray State, St. Louis and Tulane.
"Getting into the state of Indiana for a player of his caliber who was very highly recruited is a compliment to our university," Drew said. "Hopefully, we can continue to build this class around Jalen."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Blackmon found the right coach in Grand Canyon head coach Bryce Drew, who once fit that same description, and his program fit with GCU. The 6-foot-3 Marion High School combo guard and ESPN four-star recruit signed Wednesday to play for the Lopes.
Blackmon threatened to make a run at the Indiana high school career scoring record with a 29.8 scoring average last season when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in January. Drew and his GCU staff showed no hesitation in recruiting Blackmon, knowing his work ethic and respectful ways.
The senior has rehabilitated to 100% with the support of a father (James Sr.) who is his Marion coach and a former pro player, a mother (Saija) who is a doctor and brothers (James Jr. and Vijay) who played collegiately and came back from the same injury.
"Coach Drew just let me know from Day 1 that he wants me to come in and get buckets," Jalen said. "That's really important to me, coming in and being able to play right off the bat and be an instant-impact guy.
"Coach Drew was in the NBA for six years and has coached all these great guys and, when I committed, he was really excited. That was shocking to me. It meant the world."
Like the Drew basketball family tree, Jalen grew up immersed in the game. James Sr. was an Indiana Mr. Basketball runner-up to Steve Alford and a McDonald's All-American who played at Kentucky. James Sr., a school conflict mediator, was a Nets fifth-round draft pick and played in the CBA and World Basketball League for nine years.
James Jr. is a pro player in Turkey who also was a McDonald's All-American and played at Indiana, where Vijay walked on before moving to Lindenwood as a graduate transfer.
"Jalen is from a basketball family and he's a prolific scorer with a very high basketball IQ," Drew said. "He's going to be a tremendous fit on our campus. He's a 3.8 student. With the returning players, he's going to complement them really well.
"We look for his impact to be immediate for us with the experience he's had playing Indiana high school basketball and working out his whole life against his brothers. His value will come in many ways on the court, but also many ways off the court. He has extremely high character and he's an excellent student. Our campus is going to love having him here."
With an indoor basketball court at their home, Jalen's path to GCU began as a kindergartner who would put up 1,000 shots per day with a regulation-height hoop and a regulation-size ball that he sometimes took to bed.
"I've always worked on basketball a crazy amount," Jalen said. "I've gotten a crazy amount better since I tore my ACL. I'm just looking to do little things like waking up and stretching, lifting weights. I've gained 18 pounds of all muscle (to 177 pounds). I've worked on my athleticism. My brother, James, is home and he's really teaching me how to train like a pro and not just go out there to make 1,000 shots."
Jalen was amid a 36-point game when he suffered the injury, but his game is well-rounded as a passer too. He was averaging 6.3 assists as a junior while shooting 51% from the field and 37% on 3-pointers.
"I'm very unselfish," Jalen said. "I can score the ball, but I can also get my teammates involved. That's really important to me. I'm going to play as hard as I can for them every day.
"I've matured as a point guard, being able to see how to get my teammates open shots and create for myself. From playing for my dad, I've become a better talker and leader."
He sees a similar ability to learn at a high level from Drew, but with the perks of playing at a GCU Arena that ordinarily is full each game and enjoying sunny Phoenix weather that was "the icing on the cake."
"My family is extremely excited for me to play for Coach Drew because of how much he knows about the game and how much I can learn from him," Blackmon said. "I know Coach Drew is going to let me play through mistakes but also make the best player I can be.
"I also liked how the community is really into basketball and all the students are really into it. The people who are around the program are high-level people."
Blackmon's other finalists were Central Florida, Houston, Murray State, St. Louis and Tulane.
"Getting into the state of Indiana for a player of his caliber who was very highly recruited is a compliment to our university," Drew said. "Hopefully, we can continue to build this class around Jalen."
The 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 signee of the class. @Jalenblackmon1 is a Lope! Welcome to GCU. #LopesUp
— GCU Men's Basketball (@GCU_MBB) November 11, 2020
Read » https://t.co/XArAAVD7ix pic.twitter.com/nxMuqSzzys
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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