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Revision as of 18:49, 9 May 2023 by 77.77.216.160 (talk) (→Personal life)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American basketball player (1966–2023)
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1966-09-09)September 9, 1966 Del Rio, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | May 3, 2023(2023-05-03) (aged 56) |
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | McCullough (The Woodlands, Texas) |
| College | |
| NBA draft | 1990: 1st round, 26th overall pick |
| Selected by the Detroit Pistons | |
| Playing career | 1990–1999 |
| Position | Point guard / Shooting guard |
| Number | 32, 21 |
| Career history | |
| 1990–1992 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1992–1993 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1993 | Quad City Thunder |
| 1993–1994 | Oklahoma City Cavalry |
| 1994–1995 | Gießen 46ers |
| 1997–1998 | Albacomp Fehérvár |
| 1998–1999 | Keravnos |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 289 (2.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 110 (0.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 117 (0.8 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Lance Blanks (September 9, 1966 – May 3, 2023) was an American professional basketball player and executive who worked as an analyst for ESPN. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. Blanks also spent several seasons playing in Europe. Blanks worked as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns from 2010 to 2013.
Early life
Blanks was born in Del Rio, Texas, to Sid Blanks, a football player who played in the American Football League and National Football League. Lance Blanks attended McCullough High School in The Woodlands, Texas, and was named Texas Mr. Basketball and a third-team Parade All-American in 1985.
College career
Blanks played collegiately at the University of Virginia and the University of Texas at Austin. Blanks and Texas Longhorns teammates Travis Mays and Joey Wright were known as the "BMW Scoring Machine" during the 1989–90 season. That team finished third in the Southwest Conference and advanced to the Elite Eight in the 1990 NCAA tournament. Blanks drew strong criticism and gained many detractors for his on-court antics and unsportsmanlike, excessive celebration, such as at the Elite Eight of the 1990 tournament.
With 1,322 points, Blanks holds the record for the highest number of points by a two-year player and is the eighth-leading scorer in University of Texas history. Blanks ended his career at Texas as the all-time leader in steals and ranked fourth in career scoring average with 20.0 points per game.
Blanks was inducted into Texas Athletics' Longhorn Hall of Honor in 2007.
Pro playing career
A guard, Blanks was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 1990 NBA draft with the 26th overall pick. He had an undistinguished career as a player, playing 142 games in three NBA seasons with the Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves. Afterwards, he played one season in the Continental Basketball Association and another three seasons in Europe, leading teams in Hungary and Cyprus to league titles.
Post-playing career
From 2010 to 2013, Blanks served as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns, a job he earned after five seasons as assistant general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Prior to joining the Cavaliers, he served as the director of scouting for the San Antonio Spurs. He joined the Spurs in 2000 as a scout and was elevated to director of scouting in September 2002. Also while in San Antonio, Blanks served as the Spurs' television analyst during the 2004–05 season.
From 2020 until his death in 2023, Blanks served as a television analyst for the Texas Longhorns on Longhorn Network.
Personal life
Blanks's daughter, Riley, was a four-star recruit for the University of Virginia tennis team. Lance was married to Renee Blanks and both of his daughters are biracial. His cousin Larvell Blanks was an infielder in Major League Baseball.
In 2019, Blanks hosted a symposium on concussive injuries, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), at the University of Texas's Center for Sports Communication & Media. His father suffered from Parkinson's disease after playing professional football for years. Participants at the symposium discussed the effect of football on the human brain and the symbolic importance of the sport in American life. Blanks also worked with Basketball Without Borders.
Blanks took his own life on May 3, 2023, at the age of 56.
Notes
- ^ Finger, Mike (May 4, 2023). "Former Texas star Lance Blanks leaves legacy beyond basketball". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- ^ Cavaliers: Front Office Archived July 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- Cohen, Haskell (March 17, 1985). "Parade's All-America High School Boys Basketball Team". Parade. p. 18. Retrieved May 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Longhorn legends: Basketball Hall of Honor inductee Lance Blanks". texassports.com. October 9, 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- "2014–15 Texas Basketball Fact Book" (PDF). texassports.com. p. 91. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- Nuhn, Gary (March 24, 1990). "Blanks shoots, hoots & hollers for Longhorns". Dayton Daily News. p. B1. Retrieved May 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Former Pistons guard Lance Blanks passes away at age 56". detroitnews.com. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ Broussard, Chris (August 5, 2010). "Suns hire Lance Blanks as GM". ESPN. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
- Suns and Blanks Part Ways
- Cavaliers: Lance Blanks Chat Transcript
- Ufnowski, Amy (November 24, 2020). "Longhorn Network Set to Televise 20 Texas Basketball Games During the 2020-21 Season". ESPN Press Room U.S. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
- "Raised to Shine". uvamagazine.org. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- Pekmic, Asmir (May 9, 2023). "Who is Lance Blanks' wife Renee? Exploring their relationship and family". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ "Head Trauma and the Future of Football". https://Moody College of Communication. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
{{cite web}}: External link in|publisher= - "Texas football legend Sidney Blanks dies at 80". KVUE. December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- Blanks Reed, Riley (May 9, 2023). "Remembering the man, my father Lance Blanks". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics from NBA.com and Basketball Reference
| Phoenix Suns general managers | |
|---|---|
# denotes interim general manager |
- 1966 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century African-American sportspeople
- 21st-century African-American sportspeople
- African-American basketball players
- Alba Fehérvár players
- American expatriate basketball people in Cyprus
- American expatriate basketball people in Germany
- American expatriate basketball people in Hungary
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball players from Texas
- Cleveland Cavaliers executives
- Detroit Pistons draft picks
- Detroit Pistons players
- Giessen 46ers players
- Keravnos B.C. players
- Minnesota Timberwolves players
- National Basketball Association general managers
- Oklahoma City Cavalry players
- Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball)
- People from The Woodlands, Texas
- People from Del Rio, Texas
- Phoenix Suns executives
- Quad City Thunder players
- Shooting guards
- Sportspeople from Harris County, Texas
- Texas Longhorns men's basketball players
- Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players