A three-star recruit from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, John Blackwell ranked as the 29th-best combo guard in the nation and the third-best prospect in the state of Michigan coming out of Brother Rice High School.
In his first year, Blackwell was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and averaged 8.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.
Blackwell has needed to take on a much larger role in his sophomore campaign after Chucky Hepburn, the Badgers’ starting point guard over the last three years, transferred to Louisville and seven other players departed before the season.
“Whatever position coach wants me to play,” Blackwell said in an interview earlier this year.
Blackwell averaged 18.5 minutes per game and started only once last year. However, this year, Blackwell has started every game and is averaging 30.4 minutes.
With the increased playing time, Blackwell has played a key role in the team’s success this year as he is averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game.
What can we expect moving forward?
Against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 3, Blackwell scored a career-high 32 points which topped his previous high of 30 points he set earlier in the year against UT Rio Grande Valley.
A week later on Jan. 10, Blackwell made only three of his ten field goal attempts against Minnesota, his second-lowest field goal percentage of the year.
But then Blackwell bounced back with another strong performance against USC, leading the Badgers with 28 points and five rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting.
“I got a hot hand early, and [my teammates] just found me,” Blackwell said in the post-game presser after his scoring surge against Iowa.
Blackwell is averaging 15.1 shot attempts per game (field goal and free throw attempts combined). In games where Blackwell has 15 or more shot attempts per game, he is averaging 20.2 points per game.
“When you’re hitting shots, you just feel it, so you just keep shooting,” Blackwell noted.
During his freshman year, Blackwell shot 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. This year, he is shooting 32.9 percent. Blackwell is also only averaging one more free throw attempt than he did last year despite the additional playing time.
Having a hot hand on any given night might be all it takes for Blackwell to be a high-volume scorer, but slight improvements from an efficiency standpoint will take his play to the next level down the stretch.
“I have confidence in my coaches and my teammates,” Blackwell said after his performance against Minnesota. “They trust me. They know how good I am, and I know how good I’ve worked.”
Blackwell won’t shy away from a larger role when needed and can take over a game at any time. While Blackwell may not have started out as the Badgers’ first option on offense, he’s quickly becoming their go-to guy and someone they rely on every game.
“He’s very mature,” head coach Greg Gard said about the sophomore guard after the USC game, “He’s got a great disposition about him.”
Overall, Blackwell needed to step up this year, and so far, he has delivered and been a crucial part of the No. 18 ranked Badgers' hot streak where they have won seven out of their last eight games.
