Wayne Fitzgerald Blackshear (born February 11, 1992) is an American 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 who last played for the Maine Celtics of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

. He played college basketball for the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

High school and college career

Blackshear played basketball for Curie Metropolitan High School before transferring to crosstown rival

Morgan Park High School Morgan Park High School is a 4–year public high school and middle school located in the Morgan Park neighborhood on the far south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1916, Morgan Park is a part of the Chicago Public Schools dis ...

. He earned 2010 and 2011 first team All-State recognition from the ''

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'', and was 2011 ''

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'' Sun-Times Player of the Year. He was a 2011

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

and a ''Parade'' All-American. Between 2011 and 2015, Blackshear played

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for the

. As a sophomore in 2012–13, he helped the Cardinals win the

2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 2013 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament that involved 68 teams playing to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 19, 2013, and concluded wit ...

. As a senior in 2014–15, Blackshear earned second-team

Academic All-American The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...

honors and averaged 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 32 games.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, Blackshear played for 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 ...

in the Orlando and Las Vegas NBA Summer Leagues. For the 2015–16 season, Blackshear moved to Italy to play for Giorgio Tesi Group Pistoia in the Italian first division. In 31 games, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. After playing for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2016 Orlando Summer League, Blackshear returned to Italy for the 2016–17 season, this time with Unieuro Forlì in the Italian second division. Due to a knee injury, he played only 14 games for Forlì. He averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Between December 22, 2017, and January 6, 2018, Blackshear played four games in Lebanon with Byblos Club. He averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. For the 2018–19 season, Blackshear moved to Finland to play for the Helsinki Seagulls. In 24 games, he averaged 18.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. For the 2019–20 season, Blackshear joined the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics (formerly the Maine Red Claws) are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo B ...

of the

. On February 18, 2020, Blackshear signed with the

Franklin Bulls The Franklin Bulls are a New Zealand basketball team based in Pukekohe, Auckland. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Franklin Pool and Leisure Centre. For sponsorship reasons, they are k ...

in New Zealand for the 2020 NBL season. On July 28, 2020, Blackshear signed with

Spójnia Stargard Spójnia Stargard, also known as shortly Spójnia, is a professional Polish basketball team based in Stargard, Poland, currently playing in the Polish Basketball League (PLK), the highest tier in Polish basketball. In 2018, they gained promotion f ...

of the PLK. In five games, Blackshear averaged 8.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. On October 25, 2020, he parted ways with the team. On October 23, 2021, Blackshear signed with the Maine Celtics. He did not make the team's final roster. On December 31, 2021, Blackshear was acquired by the

Long Island Nets The Long Island Nets are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Uniondale, New York, and are affiliated with the Brooklyn Nets. The team plays its home games at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Nassau Count ...

. However, he was removed from the team on January 19, 2022.

Maine Celtics (2022)

On February 11, Blackshear was acquired by the Maine Celtics. He was then later waived on February 27, 2022.

References

External links

Louisville Cardinals bio2015 NBA Summer League profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackshear, Wayne 1992 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Finland American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon American expatriate basketball people in New Zealand American expatriate basketball people in Poland American men's basketball players Basketball players from Chicago Helsinki Seagulls players Long Island Nets players Louisville Cardinals men's basketball players Maine Red Claws players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Pistoia Basket 2000 players Shooting guards Small forwards