Rolando Blackman
Rolando Blackman was born in Panama City, Panamá Province, Panama on February 26th, 1959 and is the Basketball Player. At the age of 65, Rolando Blackman biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 65 years old, Rolando Blackman has this physical status:
Rolando Antonio Blackman (born February 26, 1959) is a retired Panamanian-born American professional basketball player.
He was a four-time All-Star who spent the bulk of his time with the Dallas Mavericks. Blackman was born in Panama City, Panama, and raised in Brooklyn, New York, from the age of eight.
Personal life
He has four children and lives in Dallas, Texas.
The Assist Youth Foundation's Board of Directors is chaired by Blackman. The foundation's mission is to improve the lives of underprivileged children in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex and around the world.
Blackman is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. Blackman continues to serve in Beta Psi, as well as the Kansas State University community.
Playing career
After being raised in Brooklyn, Blackman attended Kansas State University, where he played basketball under coach Jack Hartman. Blackman was a popular performer in Kansas State, achieving a variety of accomplishments: he was a hero.
Blackman was also selected as a starter for the 1980 Summer Olympics basketball team in the United States, but he was unable to participate in the Olympics due to the United States' Olympic boycott. He did not win one of the 461 Congressional Gold Medals designed specifically for the spurned athletes, but he did not win one of them.
Blackman's senior year as the #8 seed in the West Regional of the NCAA tournament. In the first round, they defeated #9 seed University of San Francisco. In the second round, then KSU defeated #1 seed Oregon State 51–48, a dramatic comeback from Blackman's game-winning jumper with three seconds remaining. Illinois was the #4 seed in the semi-finals, defeating #2 seed North Carolina 82-68.
In 1996, after the Big Eight Conference expanded to the Big 12, Blackman was promoted to the AP all-Big Eight basketball team. The number 25 jersey of a blackman was retired by Kansas State in a ceremony at halftime after a game against Iowa State in February 17, 2007. In 2015, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Rolando Blackman was drafted by the Mavericks in the first round (9th overall) of the 1981 NBA Draft. He was the first Panamanian-born player to play in the NBA. In his rookie season, Blackman had a huge effect on the team, averaging 13.3 PPG. In his rookie year, he played for a good deal of minutes in his career, with around 24 minutes per game. He did well, but the Mavericks weren't as good as the 1983-1984 season. That was also Blackman's best statistical season as he averaged a career high 22.4 PPG and led the franchise to its first-ever playoff appearance. The Mavericks survived the Los Angeles Lakers after defeating the Seattle SuperSonics and progressing to the second round. Despite outstanding results, Blackman skipped the all star game that year, though he did make it the following year. He would go on to be named an NBA All-Star four times in his career. With two free throws, Blackman tied the game at the end of regulation at the 1987 All-Star Game. In overtime, the West team would triumph. The Mavericks were able to make the Western Conference Finals in 1987-1988, and they had a fantastic season as a result. This was the franchise's first appearance in the Conference Finals in history. The Mavericks made it far, but the Los Angeles Lakers lost in 7 games to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks started to fail and wouldn't achieve the same degree of success in the Dirk Nowitzki era until much later. The Blackman continued to play well and averaged around 19 PPG for the next two seasons, but the Mavericks fell off the standings. Blackman had been 32 years old by the 1991–1992 season, and the Mavericks were also on the brink of rebuilding. By the 1992 off-season Blackman's time with the team was over. Blackman made 6,487 field goals with the Mavericks, scoring 16,643 points, which was a franchise record for 18 years until it was shattered by Dirk Nowitzki on March 8, 2008. Blackman never fouled out of a game in his 865 games with the Mavericks.
On June 24, 1992, Blackman was traded to the New York Knicks for a 1995 first round pick (which became Loren Meyer). Blackman spent his remaining two seasons in the NBA with the New York Knicks. He was reunited with ex Dallas teammate Derek Harper in his last season in New York. The team made it to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Houston Rockets in seven games. In Game 4 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Semi-finals against the Charlotte Hornets, one of Blackman's most memorable games as a Knick was when he made the game winning shot with five seconds remaining in a game that put the Knicks up by two. Blackman's career was still strong in the twilight years of his career, but his years were getting to him, and his time in the NBA was over. The Knicks waived Blackman on July 6, 1994.
He resigned from the league shortly after being promoted. He had career highs of 17,623 points, 3,278 rebounds, and 2,981 assists during the 1993-1994 season. Blackman, the NBA's all-time scoring leader (born in Iberian, Latin American, and Spanish-speaking countries) until Pau Gasol overtook him on March 6, 2015. By the Mavericks on March 11, 2000, Blackman's number 22 jersey was retired.
In the middle of the 1994–95 season, Blackman signed with AEK Athens BC, a Greek League team. They finished the season in a disappointing 8th place, led by Vlade urovi.
Blackman transferred to Olimpia Milano, where head coach Bogdan Tanjevi brought him in. Dejan Bodiroga, Gregor Fuka, Nando Gentile, and Alessandro De Pol, a 37-year-old Blackman who helped them win both the Italian League and the Italian Basketball Cup by scoring 15.3 points per game. Blackman was named the Italian Cup MVP. Olimpia reached the Kora Cup final, losing to Efes Pilsen Istanbul in a home-and-away competition.
In the summer of 1996, Blackman was transferred to Limoges CSP, essentially brought along by coach Tanjevi, who had previously agreed to be the club's new head coach.
Post-playing career
Under new coach Don Nelson, Blackman was chosen in 2000 to be the defensive coordinator for the Mavericks. He spent the next year as an assistant coach for the German National team and helped them win a bronze medal at the 2002 World Basketball Championships in Indianapolis. Blackman, Matt Pinto, and Bob Ortegel were among the Mavericks television analysts hired during the 2004-2005 season. Blackman returned to the Mavericks' bench for the 2005–06 season, serving his first season as a full-fledged assistant coach. In July 2006, he was promoted to the position of Director of Player Development.
In August 2010, Blackman was hired as an assistant coach for the Turkish national basketball team by head coach Bogdan Tanjevi, ahead of the 2010 FIBA World Championship tournament. Blackman said he took the job specifically to work with Tanjevi, who had been his coach in Milan.
Pat Riley, Blackman's former assistant with the New York Knicks, admitted that Sitting Rolando Blackman in favour of John Starks during Games 6 and 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals was the biggest coaching mistake in his career, and he has never regretted it.