Coached by his legendary father in Ft. Wayne and then Marion, James Blackmon, Jr. battled back from a knee injury in high school to finish as one of the most prolific scorers the state has ever seen.

After an early commitment to IU, he de-committed and sent Hoosier nation into frenzied panic. Then, much to all our relief, he once and for all decided to play for his home-state school. And did he ever.

“Jimmy Buckets” hit the ground running as a freshman lighting up the conference and putting the country on notice, only to suffer a season-ending knee-injury his sophomore year. Refusing to feel sorry for himself, he attacked his rehab and cheered on his teammates as they went on to win Indiana’s last Big Ten title.

His junior year the team was loaded, and after top-5 wins over Kansas and then UNC, seemed poised for a Final Four run, only to see James lose more games to injury, and have O.G. Anunoby go down & out for the year. It was a disappointing end for one of the best shooters Bloomington has ever seen.

Though the ups and downs of James Blackmon Jr.’s IU career were many, he was and continues to be a player, and a human being, the whole state of Indiana can be proud to call one of its own.