Jaron Blossomgame

Blossomgame Final Bio

OverviewDeclared for the 2016 NBA Draft but did not sign with an agent … went through the NBA Draft Combine and was a standout player, but opted to return for his senior season, where he cemented his legacy as a two-time All-ACC performer … signed in the fall of 2011 with Brad Brownell’s program … highest-rated signee of Clemson’s 2012 class, he sat out the season and redshirted due to a broken leg suffered in April as a senior in high school … practiced in limited contact situations throughout most of the 2012-13 season … earned team’s Tiger Pride Award at season’s end … underwent second surgery on his leg in June 2013 to accelerate the healing process … returned to the court in September 2013 … earned great experience as a freshman in 2013-14, playing as an undersized power forward … valuable rebounder and athlete whose rookie season was cut short after suffering an injury in the NIT opener … earned the Determined Spirit Award at the CLEMMYs, the athletic department’s annual all-sports banquet … had significant impact as a sophomore in 2014-15, leading the Tigers in scoring and rebounding … named team’s Most Improved Player … elevated his game to another level as a junior in 2015-16, when he again led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding, putting together one of the best individual seasons in recent history by a Tiger … received the Paul Bowie Most Valuable Player honor in 2015-16 … amassed 1,733 points over his career, fifth-most in Clemson history … also snagged 831 rebounds, eighth-best in program history … finished career in the top 10 in Clemson history in starts (125), minutes (3,924), 20-point games (32), double-figure games (87), field goals (627) and free throws (383) … played for the Georgia Stars, the same AAU program that sent 2012 graduate Tanner Smith to Clemson … recruited by former Clemson assistant Earl Grant, now head coach at College of Charleston … earned undergraduate degree in sociology in August 2016 … only college player to attend both the Nike Basketball Academy and adidas Nations, both in Los Angeles, in July 2016 … signed with ASM Sports, the same agency that represents former Tiger standouts Trevor Booker and K.J. McDaniels.

2016-17Third-team All-ACC … first Tiger to earn an all-conference honor in multiple seasons since Trevor Booker (2009,10) … USBWA first-team all-district … finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and Julius Erving Award … appeared in 33 games, starting each contest with an average of 34.3 minutes played … leading scorer for a third straight season, averaging 17.7 points per game … ranked 10th among all ACC players in scoring average … produced 584 points, topping his previous high of 580 as a junior … led team in field goals (220) and free throws (120) … scored double figures in 31 of 33 games … posted 20 or more points in 14 games … led team with four double-doubles … shot 49.9 percent for the season, which ranked sixth in the ACC.BEST GAMES, 2016-17Top ACC effort was 25 points in a win at Pittsburgh, he matched a career-high with four three-point goals in the contest … scored 24 points in overtime contest against North Carolina, the eventual National Champion … made 9-14 field goals against the Tar Heels … posted 22 at Notre Dame, with eight rebounds … shot 10-14 and totaled 22 points at home against Virginia … posted 20 points at home against Virginia Tech, hitting 3-4 from long distance versus the Hokies … tallied 20 in a one-point loss at home to Syracuse … notched double-double in home win over Wake Forest with 17 points and 10 rebounds … made 7-11 field goals and 9-9 free throws for 24-point effort at home against Florida State … tallied 22 points in ACC Tournament win over NC State and 19 in the ensuing contest with Duke, the eventual champion … finished career with 24-point outing against Oakland in the NIT … double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in win over Final Four South Carolina team … produced 20 points in win over UNC Wilmington, an NCAA Tournament team … notched 22 points and seven rebounds in Tire Pros Invitational loss to Oklahoma … best non-conference production came against SC State, with 29 points … also produced 27 in non-conference action against High Point.2015-16First-team All-ACC by the media and coaches … ACC’s Most Improved Player by the media and coaches … USBWA first-team all-district selection … NABC second-team all-district … appeared in 31 games, starting each contest at an average of 34.2 minutes played … leading scorer at 18.7 points per game … ranked third among all ACC players in scoring average, with the best mark by a Tiger since 2000-01 … posted 580 points, eighth-most in a single season in Clemson history … his total included 373 in ACC play, third-best in program history … first player in Clemson history to shoot at least 50 percent overall, 40 percent from three and 75 percent from the free throw line in a season … led Tigers in field goals (201) and free throws (133) … made career-high 45 threes, ranking third on the team, with a team-best 44.6 percent accuracy … his mark ranks eighth-best in Clemson history for a season … scored double figures in 27 of 31 games and posted at least 20 points in more than half (16) of Clemson’s contests … first player since Horace Grant in 1986-87 to score 20+ points in five straight games when he did it from January 16 to February 2 … posted three games with at least 30 points … ranked sixth among all ACC players with a 51.3 percent field goal accuracy.

Best Games, 2015-16Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and ACC Player of the Week after leading the Tigers to wins over Duke and Miami … posted 17 points in the win over the Blue Devils and followed with 25 against the Hurricanes … the performance against Miami began a string of five straight 20+ point games … posted 23 at Virginia and 22 in games against Pittsburgh and at Florida State and Wake Forest … posted first career 30-point game against Notre Dame on Feb. 8, where he made a career-high 13 field goals … posted 33 points at NC State, his career high … made 12-22 shots, including three from long distance, in addition to 6-7 free throws … followed with 22-point performance at Georgia Tech on Feb. 23 … posted 31 at home in a loss to Virginia where he accounted for 54 percent of the Tigers’ point total … made 10-16 field goals in that contest against the Cavaliers, including 4-6 from three … finished season with 22 points against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament … posted 20 points at Syracuse ina  big overtime victory over the Final Four team … big effort in win over a ranked Louisville team, he had 17 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three blocks … top effort in non-conference play was at Minnesota, when he scored 24 points on 9-14 shooting … also had 22 against Rutgers and 22 versus Wofford … posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against South Carolina

2014-15Appeared in 31 games, starting each contest at an average of 30.9 minutes played … team’s leading scorer at 13.1 points per game, and leading rebounder at 8.2 per game … first freshman or sophomore to lead the Tigers in both since Greg Buckner did it as the ACC Rookie of the Year in 1994-95 … also led Tigers in field goals (144), free throws (102) … increased scoring average from 4.9 points to 13.1 per game; his +8.2 improvement was the largest gain by a Tiger player since Will Solomon’s sophomore jump in 1999-2000 … held ACC’s fifth-best scoring average improvement over 2013-14 … posted eight of Clemson’s nine double-doubles, and 12 of the Tigers’ 14 double-figure rebound games … led team with 77 offensive rebounds … improved free throw accuracy to 70.8 percent as a sophomore … a model of consistency, scored double figures in 25 of 31 games.

Best Games, 2014-15Scored season-high 26 points in non-conference game against Oakland, missing just three shots total (8-10 FGs, 7-8 FTs) … top ACC performance came in the regular season finale at top-10 Notre Dame, he posted 22 points and 10 rebounds … made 9-12 shots against the Fighting Irish … also played well in the home game against UND on Feb. 10; scored 17 points and grabbed season-high 14 rebounds … tallied 19 points and nine rebounds on Feb. 28 against Georgia Tech … made 6-9 field goals and 5-6 free throws and totaled 18 points in Jan. 10 road win over Pittsburgh … scored 17 points in Clemson’s upset over a top-25 Arkansas team; added eight rebounds against the Razorbacks … posted 16 points and 12 rebounds in win over Robert Morris, who made the NCAA Tournament … scored 16 points in Clemson’s win over Boston College … tallied 15 points and 12 rebounds in win over Syracuse on Jan. 17 … also had 15 points, nine rebounds at Louisville, an Elite Eight team … posted 14 points and 13 rebounds against High Point … scored 14 in Feb. 4 road win over Florida State, and 14 against the Seminoles in the ACC Tournament on March 11.

2013-14Appeared in 33 games, with 30 starts … played 773 minutes as a redshirt freshman, 23.4 per game … considered Clemson’s first freshman starter over the course of a season since Demontez Stitt in 2007-08 … averaged 4.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game … shot 39.5 percent from the field and 59.6 percent at the free throw line … third on the team in total rebounds and offensive rebounds … third on the team with 13 blocked shots and nine dunks … had higher averages for points (5.3) and rebounds (5.2) during the ACC regular season … reached double figures in the scoring column three times … grabbed seven or more rebounds in 10 games.

Best Games, 2013-14ACC Rookie of the Week following a 14-point, 14-rebound performance against No. 13 Duke … fourth Tiger freshman on record to post at least 14 points and 14 rebounds in the same game, and first since Sharone Wright in 1991-92 … made 2-5 from three-point range against the Blue Devils … the 14 rebounds were third-most by an ACC freshman … matched season-high with 14 against Pitt at home on 5-10 shooting … added six rebounds in season-high tying 40 minutes of play … posted 10 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes during crucial ACC road win over Florida State … made pair of three-pointers in the second half to fuel Tiger comeback … posted nine points and five rebounds at Wake Forest … also scored nine in Charleston Classic final versus UMass on 4-6 field goals … posted eight points in first two games, with eight rebounds in 27 minutes against Delaware State … tallied seven points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes against Davidson … posted seven points and four rebounds at No. 1 Syracuse … notched seven points and six rebounds against NC State … scored six with seven boards in 40 minutes against Maryland … played well in the ACC Tournament, with seven points and nine rebounds in win over Georgia Tech, and six points in 30 minutes against Duke in the quarterfinals.

2012-13Redshirted due to injury.

Before ClemsonFour-star prospect according to ESPNU … rated the nation’s No. 74 senior prospect by PrepStars, No. 94 by ESPNU and No. 119 by Rivals.com … three-star prospect by Scout.com and 247sports.com … rated the ninth-best prospect in the state of Georgia by ESPNU … McDonald’s All-America nominee … first-team all-state at the AAAA level as a senior when he averaged 25.8 points per game … first-team All-Metro selection according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he was also first-team all-region in 2011-12 … played in the GACA All-Star Showcase as a senior, earning MVP honors for the North team … established Chattahoochee High School career records for points, rebounds and blocked shots … scored school single-game record with 42 points in season opener in 2011-12 … had 33 points in Region 7-AAAA Championship game … posted 32 points and 10 rebounds in AAAA quarterfinal loss to Southwest DeKalb … second-team all-state selection as a junior when he averaged 24.0 points and 8.8 rebounds per game … made a name for himself on the AAU circuit in the summer of 2011 for the loaded Georgia Stars organization … averaged team-high 15.7 points per game and 8.4 rebounds per game at the prestigious Peach Jam in North Augusta, SC … MVP of the 2010 and 2011 Hooch Holiday Classic … MVP of the 2011 Turkey Shootout … first-team all-region as a junior … led Chattahoochee to a 25-5 record in 2010-11 and Sweet 16 appearance at the state tournament … played high school basketball for coach Kacey Martin … born Sept. 16, 1993.