SFU’s Blackmon finally gets his due
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LORETTO -- Isaiah Blackmon has been one of the most underrated players in modern Saint Francis basketball history for some time, but there's simply no more overlooking the ultra-talented young man.
Blackmon is a star for the Red Flash this season, and he very well could be on his way to Northeast Conference Player of the Year honors.
"He's definitely got my vote," said Keith Braxton, one of the most heralded SFU players of the past few decades and last year's NEC Player of the Year recipient.
Braxton has received so much attention during his superb Red Flash career, and deservedly so. But because of that, Blackmon typically has been overshadowed.
Not anymore.
Blackmon leads the NEC in scoring during league contests at 21 points per game, and he poured in a career-high 30 on Tuesday night as the Flash clobbered Robert Morris, 86-71, at DeGol Arena.
Saint Francis has now beaten its rival from western PA a whopping nine times in a row over the past three years, and this one was never close. It also was a big win in the NEC standings, since it put the Flash in the driver's seat for the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, where higher seeds host games.
"I don't know that I can put my finger on one thing," SFU coach Rob Krimmel said of the recent series dominance against Robert Morris. "It's obviously a rivalry game, so as a coach you don't have to say too much to get them excited to play."
Saint Francis (18-8, 11-4) jumped out to a 10-4 lead, the Colonials (15-13, 11-4) pulled within 10-9, then the Flash ran off nine straight points to take control for good.
Blackmon's hot shooting early paved the way as he scored 15 points in the first 11:36 to give SFU a 29-16 lead. The Flash were up 41-31 at the break and blitzed the Colonials early in the second half with an 11-2 run to quickly push the margin up to 52-33.
Even with Saint Francis winning nine in a row, most recent games in this rivalry have come down to the wire. The Flash destroyed the Colonials in this one, however, stretching the lead as high as 24 midway through the second half.
"As a team, I think we were ready today," Braxton said. "Just a little bit of an edge, rivalry game."
Braxton finished with 19 points, and center Mark Flagg also had 19, one shy of his career high.
The star of the evening, though, was clearly Blackmon. He buried 12-of-18 shots overall and 6-of-11 from 3 for his 30 points, surpassing his previous career best of 28. He also added seven rebounds and four steals, not to mention a spectacular tomahawk dunk early in the second half.
"I felt like I was up there pretty high," Blackmon said with a smile.
Asked to grade his dunk, he humbly gave himself an 8 out of 10. Braxton, sitting nearby, disagreed and put up all 10 fingers.
From the moment he arrived on campus in 2015, Blackmon was a gifted offensive player who could always get his own shot from anywhere on the court. There haven't been many players as explosive as him offensively at SFU in recent decades -- Darshan Luckey is one on that short list -- and Blackmon appeared to be headed for superstardom.
Then came the injuries.
Blackmon has suffered serious injuries to both knees, each requiring surgery, plus has dealt with a fractured hand and bruised rib at other times. He missed all but three games during the 2017-18 season because of a knee injury.
It's amazing, really, that Blackmon is still so explosive given the two knee surgeries. But this year he's proven to be an elite scorer in NEC action, getting to the basket any time he wants and also showing deadly range from 3-point territory, shooting 43.6 percent.
Even more amazing is that Blackmon had zero Division I scholarship offers coming out of high school in Charlotte, N.C. He drew some interest from Old Dominion, but that didn't materialize.
Krimmel told the story of how he found such a diamond in the rough with Blackmon during the recruiting process. The Flash were looking for a perimeter scoring, and Will Holland, an assistant coach at the time, had seen Blackmon play.
"Will called me and said, 'Coach, I think I found our guy,'" Krimmel said.
"I'm really grateful Coach Krimmel came down and saw me at my school," Blackmon said.
Krimmel visited Charlotte to sell Blackmon on coming to Saint Francis and said he still remembers the meeting while sitting on the family's couch.
"I think I got halfway through my speech, and his dad said, 'Isaiah's got something to say to you,'" Krimmel said.
"Isaiah said, 'Coach, I'm going to come to Saint Francis."
It has worked out beautifully for both sides.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way he's responded this year in terms of his focus," Krimmel said.
"When you talk about a competitor, I don't know that I've met anybody more competitive than Isaiah. ... He's a special kid for what he's had to go through and the challenges he's faced and ups and downs. There have been plenty of moments of pain for this kid."
There could be a big moment of triumph, though, if Blackmon is indeed named NEC Player of the Year in a couple of weeks.
Krimmel, in typical coach fashion, wouldn't tip his hand and say that his player should get the award just yet.
"He could still get better," Krimmel said.
But ...
"There's no question he's established himself as one of the elite players in this league," the coach added.
ROBERT MORRIS (15-13): Bain 6-14 3-4 17, Mendy 5-9 2-2 12, Treacy 3-5 2-2 8, Jos.Williams 2-7 0-0 6, Jon.Williams 1-5 0-0 3, Bramah 6-10 2-2 14, Hawkins 0-2 3-4 3, McEwen 3-5 0-0 6, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Ngonadi 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 27-58 12-15 71.
ST. FRANCIS (18-8): Flagg 8-10 3-3 19, Thompson 2-6 0-2 5, Blackmon 12-18 0-0 30, Braxton 8-19 1-1 19, Dixon-Conover 0-0 0-0 0, Gaskins 3-7 0-0 6, Stewart 3-7 0-0 6, Kuzavas 0-1 1-4 1, Meredith 0-2 0-0 0, Labriolo 0-0 0-0 0, Burch 0-0 0-0 0, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Seidel 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 36-72 5-10 86.
Halftime--St. Francis (Pa.) 41-31. 3-Point Goals--Robert Morris 5-18 (Jos.Williams 2-5, Bain 2-6, Jon.Williams 1-4, McEwen 0-1, Hawkins 0-2), St. Francis (Pa.) 9-20 (Blackmon 6-11, Braxton 2-4, Thompson 1-2, Gaskins 0-1, Meredith 0-1, Stewart 0-1). Rebounds--Robert Morris 28 (Mendy 7), St. Francis (Pa.) 38 (Flagg 8). Assists--Robert Morris 16 (Treacy 5), St. Francis 18 (Gaskins 7). Total Fouls--Robert Morris 9, St. Francis 12. A--1,410