Blake Wesley (basketball) explained

Blake Wesley
Position:Point guard / shooting guard
Height Ft:6
Height In:3
Weight Lbs:185
League:NBA
Team:San Antonio Spurs
Number:14
Birth Date:16 March 2003
Birth Place:South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
High School:Riley (South Bend, Indiana)
College:Notre Dame (2021–2022)
Draft Year:2022
Draft Round:1
Draft Pick:25
Draft Team:San Antonio Spurs
Career Start:2022
Years1:–present
Team1:San Antonio Spurs
Years2:20222023
Team2:Austin Spurs
Highlights:
  • Second-team All-ACC (2022)
  • ACC All-Rookie Team (2022)

Blake Carrington Wesley (born March 16, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

High school career

Wesley played for James Whitcomb Riley High School in South Bend, Indiana. As a junior, he averaged 26 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.[1] In his senior season, Wesley averaged 27.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, leading Riley to the Class 4A sectional title. He was named to the Indiana All-Star team.[2]

Recruiting

Wesley was a consensus four-star recruit. On November 20, 2020, he committed to playing college basketball for Notre Dame, choosing the Fighting Irish over offers from Creighton, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Purdue and Xavier.[3] [4]

College career

Wesley had an immediate impact during his freshman season at Notre Dame, and analysts began to consider him a first-round 2022 NBA draft prospect.[5] In his college debut on November 13, 2021, he scored 21 points in a 68–52 win over Cal State Northridge.[6] On November 29, 2021, Wesley scored a career-high 24 points in an 82–72 loss to Illinois.[7] He was named to the Second Team All-ACC as well as the All-Rookie Team.[8] As a freshman, Wesley averaged 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. On March 30, 2022, he declared for the 2022 NBA draft, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.[9]

Professional career

San Antonio Spurs (2022−present)

On June 23, 2022, Wesley was selected with the 25th pick in the 2022 NBA draft by the San Antonio Spurs.[10] Wesley joined the Spurs' 2022 NBA Summer League roster. In his Summer League debut, Wesley scored twenty points and five assists in a 90–99 loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers.[11] On July 5, 2022, Wesley signed a rookie-scale contract with the Spurs.[12] Wesley made his NBA debut on October 28, 2022, scoring 10 points and 4 assists in a 129–124 win against the Chicago Bulls. Two days later, in his second career game, Wesley tore his left MCL when he collided with Jaden McDaniels during the second quarter.[13] Wesley was assigned to the Austin Spurs on December 16, and returned to game action less than 7 weeks after his injury, scoring 12 points in a 112–102 loss to the Capitanes de Ciudad de México on December 16.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio| 37 || 1 || 18.1 || .321 || .385 || .591 || 2.2 || 2.6 || .7 || .1 || 5.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| San Antonio| 61 || 3 || 14.4 || .474 || .218 || .667 || 1.5 || 2.7 || .5 || .1 || 4.4 |- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 98 || 4 || 15.8 || .398 || .299 || .639 || 1.8 || 2.7 || .6 || .1 || 4.6

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Notre Dame| 35 || 28 || 29.3 || .404 || .303 || .657 || 3.7 || 2.4 || 1.3 || .1 || 14.4

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Neddenriep . Kyle . Riley's Wesley nets 247sports' No. 100 national ranking . . February 10, 2022 . June 25, 2020.
  2. Web site: Skol Jr. . Mark . St. Joe’s JR Konieczny and Riley’s Blake Wesley named 2021 Indiana All-Stars . . February 10, 2022 . April 19, 2021.
  3. Web site: Noie . Tom . South Bend Riley guard Blake Wesley commits to Notre Dame . . February 10, 2022 . November 20, 2020.
  4. Web site: Blake Wesley. 247sports.com. 247 Sports. March 7, 2022.
  5. Web site: Notre Dame's Blake Wesley making a name for himself . . . February 10, 2022 . January 19, 2022.
  6. News: Wesley, Goodwin propel Notre Dame past CS Northridge 68–52 . February 10, 2022 . . . November 13, 2021.
  7. News: Cockburn, Plummer lead Illinois past Notre Dame 82–72 . February 10, 2022 . . . November 29, 2021.
  8. ACC Unveils 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Awards . . March 7, 2022 . March 7, 2022.
  9. Web site: Freshman Blake Wesley 'ready to start my next journey,' will leave Notre Dame to enter NBA draft. Jonathan. Givony. March 30, 2022. March 30, 2022.
  10. Web site: Spurs select Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley in 2022 NBA draft. June 23, 2022. NBA.com. June 23, 2022.
  11. Web site: San Antonio Spurs vs Cleveland Cavaliers Jul 8, 2022 Box Scores NBA.com . 2022-07-14 . www.nba.com.
  12. Web site: SPURS SIGN 2022 FIRST ROUND DRAFT PICK BLAKE WESLEY . 2022-07-14 . www.nba.com . en.
  13. Web site: NBA rookie had found an early role, and groove, as backup in San Antonio . 2022-12-25 . Notre Dame Insider . en-US.