Post by portpasses on Jan 14, 2009 8:32:53 GMT -5
Bona's Blackburn tames his game
Ex-Lackawanna star adusting to the role of point guard
By Bob DiCesare
News Sports Reporter
OLEAN — Ray Blackburn confesses that he's constantly fighting his instincts, striving to break the habits ingrained during his days at Lackawanna High School and Erie Community College.
Back then, Blackburn was the man, the Class B State Player of the Year his senior season with the Steelers, the Region III Player of the Year during his one go-round with the Kats. If Blackburn wanted to shoot, he'd shoot. And if he wanted to shoot again, he'd shoot again. His primary job as point guard was to create his own space, set himself up to score, which made perfect sense because he put the ball in the basket better than anyone else on the floor.
The rules have changed. The green light to which Blackburn was accustomed now flashes yellow. Yes, sometimes St. Bonaventure needs him to fire away. But coach Mark Schmidt also demands that Blackburn make the transition to a more traditional point guard, one with the understanding that an offense functions best when everyone's involved.
It's no easy task taming the playground within the player. Some games Blackburn comes off the bench and fully embraces the concept of generosity. Other times he succumbs to the scorer within. He, like the talented Bonnies (10-5, 1-1), remains a work in progress 15 games into a turnaround season that continues when Atlantic 10 rival Saint Joseph's (7-7, 1-0) visits the Reilly Center at 7 tonight.
"I'm going to be honest," Blackburn said Monday. "The hardest part is sacrificing my game. That's being honest.
"I was always used to being that guy. Right now, I don't need to be that guy because I have great teammates. I have a future pro in Andrew Nicholson. Jonathan Hall, he fills the stat sheet up every night. Him and Andrew are great players. So my biggest thing is sacrificing my game and understanding that I really have to run the team. It's not always about scoring points, and that's what I like to do. But I'm a point guard. I have to distribute, then score, and that's my problem. Sometimes I come in, and I just want to score. And those are the games where I struggle."
Overall, Blackburn's numbers indicate a relatively smooth transition to the Division I level. He's averaging 26 minutes and 10.4 points, including 22-point games against Mississippi State and St. Francis (Pa.). He leads the Bonnies in assists (50) but also in turnovers (49). The last four games have been indicative of his inner turmoil: 34 points, 11 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 of 7 from three-point range.
"At times he has to think pass, get other guys involved," Schmidt said. "I think at Lackawanna and Erie his job was to score the basketball. And he still needs to score it, but he has to be selective. A point guard has to not always think pass first, but he has to understand that he has to get everybody else involved.
"And I think Ray at times struggles with that because his mentality his whole life has been to score. I don't want to change it totally, but instead of 90-10 it's got to be 60-40. Because he has the ability to score and we need him to score. At the same time, we need him to get into the paint and draw people. Now he can make people around him better."
While Blackburn's evolution ebbs and flows, his passion remains a constant. His zest for the game is what first struck assistant coach Jeff Massey, and later Schmidt, as they sized him up at ECC.
"Aggressive kid, can score, really loves to play, at times wild," Schmidt said of Bona's scouting report. "We needed somebody coming off of last year that could beat guys off the dribble and get into the paint. And I love tough, hard-nosed kids, and that's what we liked about him. He gives us that energy, that scoring ability off the bench. He's able to change our tempo.
"I'm a big advocate that everything's initiated by the point guard," Schmidt said. "If the point guard's soft and doesn't pressure the ball, no one pressures the ball. Offensively, if the point guard doesn't push it, no one runs. So he generates all of that and he's good at that. Sometimes he gets out of control, but I'd rather have him get out of control and be able to pull it back a little bit than have a kid who can't get out of control because he's not talented enough."
Just two years ago Blackburn was out of competitive basketball, pondering his future. Grades dampened his Division I prospects out of high school, leading to an unsatisfying one-year stint at Monroe Community College. He spent the next season on the sidelines, discovering just how much he missed the game before returning to the court last year at ECC.
"Life ain't the same without playing basketball," Blackburn said. "I didn't like waking up every day, going to work, and going to school and just not playing basketball. When you spend time away from it, you love it. It's like your girlfriend that you think you don't love, or a significant person that you have in your life that you think you don't love. And they go away and then you're heartsick. And I was just heartsick."
Ex-Lackawanna star adusting to the role of point guard
By Bob DiCesare
News Sports Reporter
OLEAN — Ray Blackburn confesses that he's constantly fighting his instincts, striving to break the habits ingrained during his days at Lackawanna High School and Erie Community College.
Back then, Blackburn was the man, the Class B State Player of the Year his senior season with the Steelers, the Region III Player of the Year during his one go-round with the Kats. If Blackburn wanted to shoot, he'd shoot. And if he wanted to shoot again, he'd shoot again. His primary job as point guard was to create his own space, set himself up to score, which made perfect sense because he put the ball in the basket better than anyone else on the floor.
The rules have changed. The green light to which Blackburn was accustomed now flashes yellow. Yes, sometimes St. Bonaventure needs him to fire away. But coach Mark Schmidt also demands that Blackburn make the transition to a more traditional point guard, one with the understanding that an offense functions best when everyone's involved.
It's no easy task taming the playground within the player. Some games Blackburn comes off the bench and fully embraces the concept of generosity. Other times he succumbs to the scorer within. He, like the talented Bonnies (10-5, 1-1), remains a work in progress 15 games into a turnaround season that continues when Atlantic 10 rival Saint Joseph's (7-7, 1-0) visits the Reilly Center at 7 tonight.
"I'm going to be honest," Blackburn said Monday. "The hardest part is sacrificing my game. That's being honest.
"I was always used to being that guy. Right now, I don't need to be that guy because I have great teammates. I have a future pro in Andrew Nicholson. Jonathan Hall, he fills the stat sheet up every night. Him and Andrew are great players. So my biggest thing is sacrificing my game and understanding that I really have to run the team. It's not always about scoring points, and that's what I like to do. But I'm a point guard. I have to distribute, then score, and that's my problem. Sometimes I come in, and I just want to score. And those are the games where I struggle."
Overall, Blackburn's numbers indicate a relatively smooth transition to the Division I level. He's averaging 26 minutes and 10.4 points, including 22-point games against Mississippi State and St. Francis (Pa.). He leads the Bonnies in assists (50) but also in turnovers (49). The last four games have been indicative of his inner turmoil: 34 points, 11 assists, 19 turnovers, 1 of 7 from three-point range.
"At times he has to think pass, get other guys involved," Schmidt said. "I think at Lackawanna and Erie his job was to score the basketball. And he still needs to score it, but he has to be selective. A point guard has to not always think pass first, but he has to understand that he has to get everybody else involved.
"And I think Ray at times struggles with that because his mentality his whole life has been to score. I don't want to change it totally, but instead of 90-10 it's got to be 60-40. Because he has the ability to score and we need him to score. At the same time, we need him to get into the paint and draw people. Now he can make people around him better."
While Blackburn's evolution ebbs and flows, his passion remains a constant. His zest for the game is what first struck assistant coach Jeff Massey, and later Schmidt, as they sized him up at ECC.
"Aggressive kid, can score, really loves to play, at times wild," Schmidt said of Bona's scouting report. "We needed somebody coming off of last year that could beat guys off the dribble and get into the paint. And I love tough, hard-nosed kids, and that's what we liked about him. He gives us that energy, that scoring ability off the bench. He's able to change our tempo.
"I'm a big advocate that everything's initiated by the point guard," Schmidt said. "If the point guard's soft and doesn't pressure the ball, no one pressures the ball. Offensively, if the point guard doesn't push it, no one runs. So he generates all of that and he's good at that. Sometimes he gets out of control, but I'd rather have him get out of control and be able to pull it back a little bit than have a kid who can't get out of control because he's not talented enough."
Just two years ago Blackburn was out of competitive basketball, pondering his future. Grades dampened his Division I prospects out of high school, leading to an unsatisfying one-year stint at Monroe Community College. He spent the next season on the sidelines, discovering just how much he missed the game before returning to the court last year at ECC.
"Life ain't the same without playing basketball," Blackburn said. "I didn't like waking up every day, going to work, and going to school and just not playing basketball. When you spend time away from it, you love it. It's like your girlfriend that you think you don't love, or a significant person that you have in your life that you think you don't love. And they go away and then you're heartsick. And I was just heartsick."
