Blake Ahearn (born May 27, 1984) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, 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 i ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for Missouri State.

High school career

Ahearn attended Immacolata School in St. Louis for grade school. He then went to

De Smet Jesuit High School De Smet Jesuit High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school for boys located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis. The school began classes in the fall of 1967. It was named in honor of the p ...

in St. Louis, Missouri. He played three years of varsity. He averaged 17.7 points per game as a junior and 18.5 as a senior. He was an All-Metro Selection his junior and senior years and an All-State selection his junior year. In his junior year, he broke his hand in the divisional semifinal game. He was unable to play for the duration of his junior year. His team was state runner-up his junior year losing to Missouri powerhouse Vashon High School in the state championship game.

College career

Ahearn played collegiately for the Missouri State Bears from 2003–2007. He was poised to finish his career with four straight

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

free-throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

titles but failed, and finished with an accuracy of 92.5% during his senior year. He finished his college career as a 94.6% free throw shooter, 435 for 460, all-time best percentage. He also holds a single-season record at 97.5%. He made 60 consecutive free-throws twice in his career (December 20, 2003, through February 14, 2004, and December 19, 2004, to February 26, 2005) which are school and Missouri Valley Conference records. He missed his final attempt against the San Diego State Aztecs in the NIT on March 24, 2007, his final college game. He holds the record for career three-pointers at Missouri State with 276 and was selected the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Freshman of the Year (2004), also being a two-time all- MVC first teamer (2006 and 2007). He came within one game each season of making the NCAA tournament and failed to reach any. His team lost in double overtime to Northern Iowa in the MVC Tournament finals his freshman year and to Creighton in the MVC finals his sophomore year. His team was rated 21st in the RPI his junior year and 33rd his senior year, which included a win over #7 in the nation

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Professional career

2007–08 season

NBA D-League

In the 2007–2008 season, Ahearn played with the

NBA Development 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 Dev ...

Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...

. He worked his way to the starting lineup, averaging 19 points, with a 96% free-throw percentage, shooting 49% from the field and 44% from 3-point range in 41 games.

NBA

On March 21, 2008, Ahearn was signed to a 10-day contract by the NBA's

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, whose roster had been depleted by injuries. On March 27, Ahearn scored a team-high 15 points in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. On April 10, Ahearn was named the Rookie of the Year of the D-League and All-NBA Development League Second Team.

2008–09 season

Despite posting a solid NBA preseason during which he averaged 8 points per game, Ahearn was cut by the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

on October 23, 2008. After being waived by the Timberwolves he joined the Dakota Wizards. On November 16, Ahearn was signed 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 ...

becoming the 2008–09 season's first D-League call-up.Spurs Sign Blake Ahearn
/ref> Ahearn was in camp with the Wizards prior to signing with the Spurs. On November 30, Ahearn was assigned to the Spurs'

D-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 Dev ...

affiliate

Austin Toros Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

.San Antonio’s Blake Ahearn Assigned To Austin Toros
The Spurs waived Ahearn on December 15, 2008, and he re-joined the Dakota Wizards. He was selected to play in the D-League All-Star Game on February 14, 2009, where he was awarded MVP alongside Courtney Sims.

2009–10 season

The following season Ahearn signed a contract with

Estudiantes Madrid Club Baloncesto Estudiantes, S.A.D., known simply as Estu and as Movistar Estudiantes for sponsorship reasons, is a basketball team based in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is a member of the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto (ACB). Founded in 1 ...

in Spain, until he moved back and played for

Bakersfield Jam Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

and for Erie BayHawks in the

2010–11 season

On August 1, Ahearn signed a contract with the Italian team

Teramo Basket Teramo Basket was a professional basketball club that is based in Teramo, Italy. Established in 1960, Teramo played in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), Italy's top league, for 10 years before they were moved to the Serie B. The team played at Pala ...

but he was waived after a few games. On December 29, he re-signed with the Erie BayHawks.

2011–12 season

Blake started the 2011–12 season participating for the United States Basketball Team in the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

. The United States won the Bronze medal with a win over the Dominican Republic in the Medal Rounds. Blake was second on the team in scoring, averaging 10 points per game, including a team-high 21 points vs Brazil in round robin play. After the games, Blake signed with the Erie Bayhawks in the NBA Development League. On draft day Blake was traded to the Reno Bighorns. Blake attended training camp with the Los Angeles Clippers during the first part of the D-League season. He then returned to the Bighorns. During the 2011–12 season Blake led the NBA-D League in scoring at 23.8 points per game He was selected to play in the D-League All-Star Game and had 21 points and 8 assists during the game. Blake also set the NBA and NBA D-League mark of 110 consecutive free throws during his season in Reno. Blake set the all-time career points record for the NBA Development league in 2012. On April 10, the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

signed Blake Ahearn to a 10-day contract. On April 20, he was signed for the remainder of the season.

2012–13 season

In September 2012, Ahearn signed with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first estab ...

of the NBA. On October 22, 2012, Ahearn was waived by the

. In December 2012, he signed with the

Dongguan Leopards The Shenzhen New Century Liebao Club, also known as Shenzhen Marco Polo or Shenzhen Leopards (previously Shenzhen Aviators) are a Chinese professional basketball team which plays in the Southern Division of the Chinese Basketball Association (CB ...

of the CBA.

2013–14 season

On August 12, 2013, Ahearn signed with

Budivelnyk Kyiv BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague due t ...

2014–15 season

On December 18, 2014, Ahearn signed with

Capitanes de Arecibo The Capitanes de Arecibo are a Puerto Rican professional basketball team based in Arecibo that competes in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN) league. In 2010, the team also had the distinction to play in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) ...

for the 2015 BSN season. However, he left the club in February 2015 after appearing in just three games. On March 11, 2015, he was acquired by the

Santa Cruz Warriors The Santa Cruz Warriors are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Santa Cruz, California, and are affiliated with the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors play their home games at Kaiser Permanente Arena. Prior to ...

. On April 26, he won the D-League championship with the Warriors.

Coaching career

In 2015, Ahearn became head boys' coach at Clayton High School in

Clayton, Missouri Clayton is a city in and the seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. It borders the independent city of St. Louis. The population was 17,355 at the 2020 census. Organized in 1877, the city was named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the ...

. Following a 7–17 season there he was hired to coach his alma mater, De Smet Jesuit. On August 1, 2017, Ahearn was named the head coach of the

Austin Spurs The Austin Spurs are an American basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cedar Park, Texas, and are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs. The team plays their home games at H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. The team has made the postseason in 8 ...

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 D ...

. On June 20, 2020, the

announced that they had hired Ahearn as assistant coach.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .263 , , .294 , , .968 , , 1.6 , , 1.6 , , .5 , , .0 , , 5.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 6.3 , , .333 , , .500, , 1.000 , , .3 , , .7 , , .3 , , .0 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

, 4 , , 0 , , 7.5 , , .286 , , .222 , , .000 , , .5 , , .3 , , .0 , , .0 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 19 , , 0 , , 11.9 , , .273 , , .298 , , .970 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.6

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 3 , , 0 , , 2.7 , , .667 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .7 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.7

NBA D-League

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2007–08 , style="text-align:left;",

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota, ...

, 41 , , 15 , , 29.4 , , .486 , , .439 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .960* , , 2.0 , , 3.5 , , .7 , , .0 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, 6 , , 6 , , 34.3 , , .444 , , .531 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .914* , , 2.3 , , 6.0 , , .8 , , .0 , , 18.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2008–09 , style="text-align:left;",

, 41 , , 41 , , 38.7 , , .445 , , .420 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .957* , , 2.4 , , 5.0 , , .7 , , .0 , , 22.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

, 17 , , 10 , , 32.8 , , .367 , , .277 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .932* , , 2.1 , , 4.1 , , 1.2 , , .1 , , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2009–10 , style="text-align:left;",

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, 13 , , 13 , , 45.1 , , .433 , , .440 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .961* , , 4.5 , , 6.7 , , 1.2 , , .3 , , 25.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2010–11 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 25 , , 33.7 , , .406 , , .354 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .962* , , 2.7 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 16.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2011–12 , style="text-align:left;",

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is th ...

, 37 , , 37 , , 37.5 , , .469 , , .409 , , style="background:#cfecec;", .962* , , 3.5 , , 5.1 , , 1.1 , , .1 , , 23.8 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", 2014–15† , style="text-align:left;", Santa Cruz , 9 , , 0 , , 21.2 , , .397 , , .375 , , .944 , , 1.9 , , 2.7 , , .7 , , .0 , , 9.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 195 , , 147 , , 34.7 , , .444 , , .404 , , style="background:#e0cef2;", .956 , , 2.5 , , 4.8 , , .9 , , .1 , , 19.9

Domestic leagues statistics

International statistics

References

External links

Eurobasket.com profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahearn, Blake 1984 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in China American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Austin Spurs coaches Austin Toros players Bakersfield Jam players Basketball coaches from Missouri Basketball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Basketball players from St. Louis BC Budivelnyk players Capitanes de Arecibo players CB Estudiantes players Dakota Wizards players Erie BayHawks (2008–2017) players High school basketball coaches in Missouri Liga ACB players Miami Heat players Missouri State Bears basketball players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Point guards Reno Bighorns players San Antonio Spurs players Santa Cruz Warriors players Shenzhen Leopards players Teramo Basket players Undrafted National Basketball Association players Utah Jazz players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games