Cal Sports Report

Grand Canyon Grad Transfer Jovan Blacksher Jr. Commits to Cal Hoops

Blacksher was the WAC preseason player of the year in 2022-23, but a knee injury ended that season and limited him in 2023-24

Jake Curtis

Jovan Blacksher Jr.
Jovan Blacksher Jr. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Cal made an intriguing point guard addition when Grand Canyon graduate transfer Jovan Blacksher Jr. announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he has committed to Cal.

The 5-foot-11 Blacksher had been a star in the Western Athletic Conference before suffering a severe knee ijury. In the 2020-21 season, he was a second-team all-WAC selection, and in 2021-22, he was first-team all-conference pick.ย  He was the preseason WAC player of the year in 2022-23 but he suffered a torn anterior-cruciate ligament in January 2023 that ended his 2022-23 season and limited his effectiveness and playing time this past season.

Cal head coach Mark Madsen got a first-hand look at Blacksher when he was completely healthy because Madsen was the head coach of WAC member Utah Valley from 2020 through 2023. Now Madsen is hoping Blacksher can return to the dominating player he was two years ago.

Blacksher recently was granted a medical redshirt, becoming eligible to play a sixth season of college basketball, and he has chosen to play that final season at Cal.

The addition of Blacksher leaves Cal with one available scholarship.

He averaged double figures in scoring in all three of his healthy seasons at Grand Canyon.

Blacksher averaged 10.6 points and 3.6 assists while shooting 26.7% from three-point range in 30 games as a freshman in 2019-20, then improved to 12.0 points, 5.4 assists and 32.3% three-point accuracy in 2020-21 when he was a second-team all-WAC pick and led Grand Canyon to a berth in the NCAA tournament.ย 

Blacksher was a first-team all-WAC selection the next season when he averaged 15.8 points, 4.0 assists while shooting 39.4% from long range for Grand Canyon, which finished 23-8 that season

His 2022-23 season began with him being named preseason WAC player of the year, but ended after just 12 games when he suffered the ACL injury in January.ย  He was still recovering from that injury this past season, when he came off the bench and averaged just 15.4 minutes, 4.8 points and 1.5 assists. But he shot 41.9% from beyond the three-point line over the 26 games he played in 2023-24.

He showed flashes of his former self in the WAC tournament championship game, scoring 14 points and hitting 2-of-3 three-pointers against Texas-Arlington. Here he makes a three-pointer, then causes an offensive foul by the opponent.

Blacksher was less of a factor in Grand Canyonโ€™s two NCAA tournament games this season, scoring four points in 21 minutes in the Lopesโ€™ upset of Saint Maryโ€™s in the first round, and going scoreless in 22 minutes of court time in the second-round loss to Alabama, ending Grand Canyonโ€™s season with a 30-5 record.

Blacksher posted a twitter video in March talking about the 2023-24 season and his recovery:

That was before he was granted a sixth season.

During his five seasons atย GCU, Blacksher played in 123 games and started 98 of those games.

He played six games against Utah Valley when Madsen was Utah Valleyโ€™s head coach.ย  Grand Canyon beat Utah Valley twice in Blacksherโ€™s final healthy season in 2021-22, collecting 15 points and five assists in a 68-57 victory and 23 points and six assists in the Lopesโ€™ 79-69 win over UVU and Madsen.

Here he makes a behind-the-back pass for a layup against Utah Valley.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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