Stetson's Jalen Blackmon, son of former Kentucky player, enters transfer portal
Earlier this week, Jamal Mashburn Jr. — the son of Kentucky legend Jamal Mashburn — entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal. A couple of days later, the son of another one-time Wildcat did the same.
On Wednesday morning, multiple reports indicated that Jalen Blackmon — the son of former Kentucky player James Blackmon — will join the younger Mashburn in the portal. Blackmon was a junior for the Stetson Hatters this past season, averaging a career-best 21.3 points per outing on 42.8 percent shooting, including a 38.1 percent clip from long range on over eight attempts per contest.
Blackmon, a 6-foot-3 guard, is a two-time All-ASUN performer, cracking the First Team for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. He was the leading scorer on a Hatters squad that won its first-ever conference tournament title and earned a 16-seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Blackmon dropped 43 points in the ASUN title game against Austin Peay.
Unlike Mashburn, don’t be surprised if Kentucky reaches out to Blackmon at some point. Aside from his connections to the program, he’s also a legitimately good player.
Blackmon started his college career at Grand Canyon where he averaged 2.7 points in eight minutes per contest off the bench. He then transferred to Stetson in 2022 and became an immediate impact starter. As a sophomore in 2022-23, Blackmon averaged 15.4 points in 28.9 minutes per game. Those numbers earned him his first of two All-ASUN First team selections.
He then quickly developed into a starting Power 5-caliber player as a junior.
Along with his team-leading 21.3 points per game in 2023-24, Blackmon also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in nearly 35 minutes per game. He shot 42.8 percent from the floor, 38.1 percent from deep, and 90.7 percent from the free throw line. The native of Indiana scored at least 20 points in 20 games this past season (sound familiar?).
Unfortunately for Blackmon, 16-seed Stetson fell to top-seeded UConn by 39 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last week. He struggled to score against the Huskies, finishing with 14 points on 4-17 shooting, but he still managed to add eight rebounds and four assists.
Looking at Blackmon’s family ties, James Blackmon Sr. enjoyed a successful four-year career with the Kentucky men’s basketball program (1983-87). A McDonald’s All-American out of high school, he appeared in 128 games as a Wildcat, scoring 866 points across his career. James Blackmon Jr. — Jalen’s older brother — was also a McDonald’s All-American in 2014 before turning into a star at Indiana.
Will Kentucky reach out and recruit another legacy prospect?
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