The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2016
Sport: Basketball
Inducted: 2016
In a time when the Southwest Conference was beginning the process of integration, Jimmy Blacklock was one of the early pioneers when he arrived at The University of Texas. A former Houston Yates star, Blacklock had just finished an outstanding career as a point guard at Tyler Junior College when he became a Longhorn under head coach Leon Black. Texas had closed the decade of the 1960s with one African-American on its team, a track & field letterman named Sam Bradley who was participating in both sports. As a junior in 1970-71, Blacklock became the first African-American starter and eventually the first African-American basketball letterman for the Longhorns. He led the team in scoring with an average of 16.6 points per game and was voted the team's MVP. Leon Black always believed opposing coaches' protests to league referees cost Blacklock a banner year in his senior season of 1971-72. In the midst of one of the best seasons in recent Texas history (before injuries helped bring the year to an early end in the NCAA Midwest Regional), Blacklock gave up his starting point guard spot and wound up averaging only seven points a game. The opposing coaches argued that Blacklock's quick first step was illegal and should be called "traveling." But the class with which Blacklock handled things didn't go unnoticed, as he was named the team captain at the end of the season. The Longhorns won the Southwest Conference for the first time since 1965, beat highly-regarded Houston in the NCAA First Round and ended the season with a 19-9 record. And as far as Blacklock's quick first step? It was about to become his trademark in a phenomenal career beyond the college game. In 1974, Blacklock joined the Harlem Globetrotters, beginning a lifetime relationship with the goodwill ambassadors of the game. He played in over 2,500 games in 62 countries with the team through the 1987 season and was a player-coach in 1997. Blacklock returned to the team in 2011, and is currently in his fifth season as a full-time coach with the Globetrotters. His son, Ross, has found success on the football field and signed with TCU as a defensive tackle in 2016.
