DeJuan Blair
 |
||
|
||
| Player information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | DeJuan Lamont Blair | |
| birthday | April 22, 1989 | |
| place of birth | Pittsburgh , United States | |
| size | 201 cm | |
| position | Power Forward / Center | |
| college | Pittsburgh | |
| NBA draft | 2009 , 37th Pick , San Antonio Spurs | |
| league | NBA | |
| Clubs as active | ||
2009–2013 San Antonio Spurs 2011 → Krasnye Krylja Samara 2013–2014 Dallas Mavericks 2014–2016 Washington Wizards 
|
||
DeJuan Lamont Blair (born April 22, 1989 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania ) is an American basketball player who last played in the NBA for the Washington Wizards . The 2.01 meter tall Blair plays the position of power forward .
Career
Blair grew up 600 meters from the University of Pittsburgh and attended nearby Schenley High School. He established himself as one of the best high school players in town, leading Schenley to an impressive 103 wins and 16 losses in the PIAA (Pennsylvania High School League) and the team winning all 57 games against other Pittsburgh schools. He was voted Pittsburgh City Player of the Year three times and played in college for the University of Pittsburgh. There Blair established himself as a reliable point collector and strong rebounder, who scored 35 double doubles in 72 college games and grabbed ten or more rebounds 41 times. After being elected "Big East Co-Player of the Year" (with Hasheem Thabeet ) in 2008/09, he signed up for the 2009 NBA draft.
Blair was initially traded as the top 10 pick, but interest was dampened by bad news: routine examinations revealed that Blair no longer had a posterior cruciate ligament in his knee due to a knee injury in high school . Therefore, despite good references (Big East Co-Player of the Year), he was prone to injury and was only selected in 37th place by the San Antonio Spurs . (Another reason for this was that he was relatively small for his position.)
Blair settled in well there. He established himself as a good back-up from Spurs center Tim Duncan , played an average of 16 minutes per game and achieved a best performance of 28 points and 21 rebounds in a game against the Oklahoma City Thunder .
After a year with the Dallas Mavericks , he joined the Washington Wizards in the summer of 2014 .
Private life
Blair is the son of Shari and Greg Blair, who played basketball at college level. His brother Greg also played for Schenley High School.
Blair no longer has the posterior cruciate ligaments in his knee. He had torn a double cruciate ligament in high school , and despite a professional operation, the ligaments did not grow back, but were probably absorbed by the body, so that his knee only absorbs stress from the muscles. In theory, this leads to a higher susceptibility to overspeeding and wear, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Web links
- DeJuan Blair - player profile on NBA.com
- DeJuan Blair - player profile on basketball-reference.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Howard Beck: Spurs' Blair Is Lacking in Everything but Success. nytimes.com , November 12, 2009, accessed July 30, 2013 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Blair, DeJuan |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Blair, DeJuan Lamont |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American basketball player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 22, 1989 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, USA |