 Blakely in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1988-10-22)October 22, 1988 (age 37) Metuchen, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Metuchen (Metuchen, New Jersey) |
| College | Vermont (2006–2010) |
| NBA draft | 2010:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2010–2020 |
| Position | Shooting guard /small forward |
| Career history | |
| 2010–2011 | Bakersfield Jam |
| 2011–2012 | Iowa Energy |
| 2012 | Sioux Falls Skyforce |
| 2012 | B-Meg Llamados |
| 2013 | Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg |
| 2013–2015 | San Mig Coffee Mixers / San Mig Super Coffee Mixers / Star Hotshots |
| 2015–2016 | Busan KT Sonicboom |
| 2016 | Star Hotshots |
| 2018 | TNT KaTropa |
| 2018 | Hyundai Phoebus |
| 2018–2019 | Shiga Lakestars |
| 2019 | Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka |
| 2019 | Blackwater Elite |
| 2020 | Kumamoto Volters |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Marqus Austin Blakely (born October 22, 1988) is an American former professionalbasketball player. He played college basketball forVermont.
Blakely gained a reputation atVermont by winning the Kevin RobersonAmerica East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year twice and the America East Defensive Player of the Year Award three times. He earned national recognition by winning the 2010State FarmDivision I College BasketballSlam Dunk Contest.[1] He performed a dunk invented by then teammateEvan Fjeld that had never been done before. The dunk is now widely known as the "Double Dunk" where Fjeld dunked the ball from the right side and Blakely caught the ball out of the bottom of the net and dunked it back in mid-air. He also performed three dunks that appeared onESPNSportsCenter's Top Plays.
He finished his senior season at Vermont by leading theAmerica East in steals (2.6 pg) and blocks (1.9 pg), finishing second in points (17.4 pg), rebounds (9.1 pg) and field goal percentage (54.1%), and came in fourth in assists (3.7 pg). He finished his career with the Catamounts ranked fifth all-time in scoring (1,875), second in rebounding (1,044) and steals (226), third in blocks (254), and 10th in assists (304). He helped lead Vermont to a 25–10 record as a senior and a trip to theNCAA tournament.
Following the season Blakely was also one of only 64 seniors in the nation to take part in thePortsmouth Invitational Tournament, helping lead his team to a championship.
After going undrafted in the2010 NBA draft,[2][3] Blakely joined theLos Angeles Clippers for the 2010NBA Summer League. On July 26, 2010, he signed with Clippers on a reported two-year partially guaranteed contract worth $473,604 per year. He was later waived by the Clippers on October 25, 2010.[4]
After his release from the Clippers, Blakely was acquired by theBakersfield Jam with the 12th overall pick in the2010 NBA D-League Draft. He appeared in 25 games for the Jam, before a mid-season trade with the Iowa Energy.
In January 2011, Blakely was traded to theIowa Energy.[5] Blakely averaged 17.2 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Energy.[6]
On April 13, 2011, Blakely signed with theHouston Rockets.[7] He suited up for the Rockets in their final game of the regular season, but did not play. Blakely entered training camp with the Rockets following the resolution of the NBA Lockout for the 2011–12 preseason, but was released on December 19, 2011.[5]
On December 27, 2011, Blakely was re-acquired by theIowa Energy of theNBA D-League, appearing in 14 games before being traded to theSioux Falls Skyforce in February 2012, where he averaged 16 points per game and 7 rebounds per contest while also being named anNBA D-League All-Star.[8]
After theNBA D-League season was completed, Blakely signed as an import player for theB-Meg Llamados of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) for the2012 PBA Governors' Cup.[9] While with B-Meg, Blakely averaged a double-double (22.3 points per game and 13.3 rebounds per game), guiding the team to the Governors' Cup final, falling 4–3 in a seven-game series.[10]
In September 2012, Blakely signed with Los Angeles Clippers. He appeared in three preseason games, but failed to score a point. On October 27, 2012, Blakely was waived by the Clippers.[5]
On December 26, 2012, Blakely signed withTelekom Baskets Bonn of theBasketball Bundesliga.[11] After failing some medical tests, he was waived on January 1, 2013.[12]
In January 2013, he signed withNeckar Riesen Ludwigsburg of Germany.
After his season in Germany ended, Blakely signed to play as an import in his return to B-Meg (this time renamed as theSan Mig Coffee Mixers).[10] Blakely helped the San Mig Coffee Mixers defeatPetron Blaze Boosters in the2013 Governor's Cupfinals. However, the finals were tainted by monkey chants shouted against him from Petron fans.[13] He was expected to return the following year as the import for the Mixers.
Blakely signed again as San Mig's import, now renamed as theSan Mig Super Coffee Mixers for the third time. He led the Mixers to clinch a historicGrand Slam.[10] It was also San Mig Coffee's fourth consecutive championship. Along with the Mixers' "Big 3" ofJames Yap,Marc Pingris andPJ Simon, they defeated theRain or Shine Elasto Painters on a do or die game at abest-of-5 championship series of the2014 PBA Governors' Cup.
He came back again as the team's import for the fourth time for the franchise, this time again renamed as thePurefoods Star Hotshots for the2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup, serving as their temporary import while Purefoods Star could find a suitable fit for the team.[14] However, Blakely still stayed with the team as a practice player when the team was able to find a suitable replacement for the team and played as the team's regular import in the following conference, the2015 Governors' Cup.[15]
Blakely was signed byBusan KT Sonicboom of theKorean Basketball League.
Blakely returned to the Philippines, this time playing again for the renamed-againStar Hotshots as the team's import for the2016 PBA Governors' Cup.[15] It was Blakely's sixth conference playing in the PBA and for the team.
On August 6, 2016, Blakely was released by the team due to the team's disappointing performance with him. He was replaced byJoel Wright.[16]
In 2018, he signed withTNT KaTropa.[17] In his debut with the Katropa, Blakely almost recorded a triple-double after posting 26 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists in a 110–104 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.[18]
After his stint with theTNT Katropa, he signed a deal with the Japanese teamShiga Lakestars. However, he left the team after just appearing for them for 13 games. After leaving, he signed a contract with another Japanese team,Fukuoka Zephyr. In his second game with Fukuoka, he recorded a triple-double of 37 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists in a 105–108 loss to theKawasaki Brave Thunders.[19]
During theGovernors Cup back in 2019, he signed with the Blackwater Elite. He scored a conference-high 37 points to go along with 17 rebounds and 6 assists in a 117–120 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters.[20]
After his stint with the Blackwater Elite, he signed with the Japanese team,Kumamoto Volters of theJapanese Basketball League. On January 29, 2020, Blakely recorded a triple-double of 24 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists againstFukuoka.[21]
With the height of 6'5, Blakely can play either the position ofShooting guard or theSmall forward. He is known to be a versatile player, as he could score, rebound and create opportunities for his teammates. He is an exceptional rebounder for his size as he could overpower his opponents, hence he averaged 9.5 rebounds per game for his career.
As a testimony of his all-around play, Blakely recorded 4 triple-doubles throughout his entire career.
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field goal percentage |
| 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game |
| PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high | Led the league | |
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Bakersfield Jam/Iowa | NBA D-League | 49 | 25.2 | .625 | .167 | .636 | 6.4 | 1.2 | 1.5 | .8 | 15.0 |
| 2011–12 | Sioux Falls/Iowa | NBA D-League | 35 | 31.1 | .522 | .231 | .566 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 15.1 |
| 2011–12 | B-Meg | PBA | 22 | 41.0 | .437 | .362 | .641 | 13.4 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 22.4 |
| 2012–13 | San Mig Coffee | PBA | 21 | 42.8 | .488 | .239 | .459 | 15.5 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 23.9 |
| 2012–13 | MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg | Bundesliga | 11 | 23.6 | .516 | .429 | .544 | 6.5 | 2.2 | .7 | 1.2 | 11.5 |
| 2013–14 | San Mig Coffee | PBA | 20 | 39.4 | .483 | .008 | .547 | 15.7 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 19.2 |
| 2014–15 | Star Hotshots | PBA | 19 | 38.5 | .543 | .143 | .635 | 12.7 | 4.3 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 21.9 |
| 2015–16 | Busan KT Sonicboom | KBL | 53 | 20.9 | .540 | .172 | .589 | 6.9 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 13.8 |
| 2015–16 | Star Hotshots | PBA | 4 | 41.0 | .482 | .000 | .529 | 17.5 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 18.0 |
| 2016–17 | Hyundai Mobis Phoebus | KBL | 11 | 26.2 | .525 | .200 | .510 | 9.8 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 1.5 | 18.0 |
| 2017–18 | TNT Katropa | PBA | 5 | 41.0 | .575 | .364 | .614 | 15.2 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 23.0 |
| 2017–18 | Hyundai Mobis Phoebus | KBL | 58 | 25.8 | .571 | .235 | .562 | 8.5 | 3.3 | 1.2 | .8 | 14.4 |
| 2018–19 | Blackwater Elite | PBA | 10 | 36.7 | .504 | .400 | .632 | 13.1 | 5.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 18.0 |
| 2018–19 | Shiga/Fukuoka | B.League | 25 | 35.2 | .426 | .333 | .610 | 9.6 | 5.8 | 2.3 | .5 | 17.3 |
| 2019–20 | Kumamoto Volters | B.League | 14 | 35.6 | .554 | .290 | .612 | 9.4 | 5.4 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 21.4 |
| Career | All Leagues | 357 | 30.6 | .524 | .270 | .575 | 9.5 | 3.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 16.9 | |