Indiana in Contact With Stetson Transfer Jalen Blackmon
After averaging 21.8 points per game at Stetson, Jalen Blackmon, the brother of former Indiana guard James Blackmon Jr., has reportedly heard from Indiana while in the transfer portal.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jalen Blackmon was one of the nation's top scorers at Stetson in 2023-24, and after entering the transfer portal he's heard from a slew of high-major programs.
That list includes Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Northwestern, Xavier, UCLA, Butler, Mississippi St., Colorado, Cal, Texas, BYU, Utah State and Loyola Marymount, according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
Blackmon, a 6-foot-3 guard with one year of eligibility, has familial ties to Indiana. His older brother, James Blackmon Jr., played under former Indiana coach Tom Crean from 2014-17 and helped the Hoosier win a Big Ten title and reach the Sweet 16. Like James, who shot 41.5% from 3-point range at Indiana, Jalen is a sharpshooter.
As a junior at Stetson in 2023-24, Jalen Blackmon averaged 21.8 points, which ranks 14th in the nation. He shot 38.1% from the 3-point line on 8.3 attempts per game, putting him 12th in the NCAA and second in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 110 3-pointers made. Blackmon was named to All-Atlantic Sun first team, adding 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 90.7% from the free throw line.
Blackmon was the leading scorer on a Stetson team that made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history in 2024. Under coach Donnie Jones, the Hatters went 22-13 and lost to No. 1 overall seed UConn in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. Blackmon scored a career-high 43 points in a 94-91 win over Austin Peay in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship, which punched Stetson's ticket to the Big Dance.
Among all players in the transfer portal, Blackmon is ranked No. 51 by 247 Sports and No. 64 by On3. He also declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining collegiate eligibility.
Blackmon also had a productive sophomore season at Stetson in 2022-23, scoring a team-high 15.4 points per game while shooting 33.6% from 3-point range and 91.2% at the free throw line. He transferred to Stetson prior to the 2023-23 season, following a freshman campaign at Grand Canyon, where he averaged 2.7 points and played just eight minutes per game.
Blackmon originally committed to Grand Canyon as a three-star recruit, ranked No. 265 in the class of 2021 out of Marion High School in Marion, Ind. Indiana did not extend a scholarship offer to Blackmon out of high school, but there was reported interest. His offers at the time included Grand Canyon, Ball State, Houston, Miami (OH), St. Louis and Tulane, per 247 Sports.
Indiana currently has six open scholarships heading into the 2024-25 season.
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- INDIANA BASKETBALL TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER: The college basketball transfer portal is in full swing. Here you can find all the Indiana basketball transfer portal news, including incoming and outgoing transfers, players with interest from Indiana, NBA draft entrants and a scholarship chart for next season. CLICK HERE
