ALL-AREA MVP: Julian Blackmon shrugged off jeers to spark Layton
Layton High senior Julian Blackmon poses for a portrait in the Layton High gym in Layton on Thursday, March 10, 2016.
Layton High senior Julian Blackmon poses for a portrait in the Layton High gym in Layton on Thursday, March 10, 2016.
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LAYTON — Julian Blackmon can’t help but laugh when he thinks about the students from other schools who chanted “Jarriesse is better” at him this past season, referencing his older brother who now plays basketball at UC Santa Barbara.
“I just thought it was funny because I’m not going to college for basketball, first of all, so of course he’s better,” Blackmon said. “And second of all, I’m just trying to play for fun.”
Blackmon heard the chant during two separate games, both of which Layton won convincingly.
“If anything it just makes me happy that people even know who I am, because obviously you know who I am but I don’t even know you, so it’s funny that you’re calling (me) out,” Blackmon said.
Although Blackmon won’t be playing basketball in college, and he downplays his abilities compared to his brother, that doesn’t mean he isn’t an incredibly gifted player.
He was, and Layton’s season took a sharp turn for the better after he returned from a broken wrist suffered during football season.
Layton, which was 3-7 without Blackmon, went 13-2 and made it to the state 5-A semifinals with him.
Blackmon averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 4.0 steals per game and has been named this year’s Standard-Examiner All-Area Team’s Most Valuable Player.
BRIANA SCROGGINS/Standard-Examiner
Layton High senior Julian Blackmon poses for a portrait in the Layton High gym in Layton on Thursday, March 10, 2016.
Blackmon said he never had any doubts about playing basketball his senior year, even though he was going to miss all of the non-region games and had already committed to play football at the University of Utah.
According to Blackmon, taking the court at Syracuse for his first game of the season (Layton’s first region game) was “the best feeling in the world.”
“It can be taken away at any given time. I was glad that a bunch of prayers had been heard from the man upstairs,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon’s gaudy numbers didn’t just help Layton win, they helped the Lancers dominate. Layton won eight straight region games by double digits, including wins over Granger by 43 and 35 points.
The Lancers averaged 68.0 points per game during region play.
Against Sky View in the 5-A quarterfinals, Blackmon had 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. His basket with 4.1 seconds left gave Layton a one-point lead and the Lancers held on for the win.
Jarriesse Blackmon said his younger brother has “succeeded in both (football and basketball) if not outdone me in both sports”
“He’s an athlete,” Jarriesse Blackmon said. “If you ask me, I think he’s the best athlete Layton High’s ever seen.”
Layton boys basketball coach Kelby Miller doesn’t know what you could want from a point guard that Blackmon didn’t provide.
“Great defensively, and then to be able to distribute the ball. Plus this year what he did just with his offensive game in addition to still doing those things, I felt was kind of the big thing,” Miller said.
For Miller, the question of whether Blackmon could play Division-I basketball is a no-brainer.
“I have no doubt in my mind that he’s a D-1 point guard. No doubt,” Miller said. “Just what he does athletically, how he is on the defensive side of things, his anticipation, his willingness to sacrifice to do what’s necessary to get wins … His jump shot is something that’s only gotten better the last three years in this program. I have no doubt that if that’s what he wanted to do he could do that.”
Contact Standard-Examiner sports reporter Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @RyanComerSe and on Facebook.