Nathaniel Blackwell (born February 15, 1965) is an American retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player and former coach. He was a 6'4" (1.93 m) and 170 lb (77 kg) point guard who played collegiately for

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

. Blackwell averaged 19.8 points per game as a senior at Temple, helping the team finish 32–4. He scored 1,708 points in his career. He was selected by the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

in the second round (27th pick overall) of the

1987 NBA draft The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City. This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to t ...

. He played for the Spurs for 10 games in 1987–88. Blackwell served as a graduate assistant coach at Temple from 1990 to 1992. From 1992 to 1996 he was an assistant coach at

Coppin State Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. In terms of demographics, the Coppin State st ...

. Blackwell returned to Temple as an assistant in 1996. He resigned on May 2, 2003 due to personal reasons. Blackwell had been considered a potential successor to John Chaney, but addiction issues ended his coaching career.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Nate 1965 births Living people All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Coppin State Eagles men's basketball coaches Point guards San Antonio Spurs draft picks San Antonio Spurs players Shooting guards South Philadelphia High School alumni Temple Owls men's basketball players Temple Owls men's basketball coaches