
- Name
- Eric Bledsoe
- Position
- Guard
- Class
- FR
- Hometown (Last School)
- Birmingham, AL (Parker)
- Ht
- 6'1"
- Wt
- 190
- Seasons
- 2009-10
- Birthday
- December 9, 1989
Eric Bledsoe was born December 9, 1989, in Birmingham, Alabama to Maureen Reddick.
Bledsoe attended Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama. As a senior in 2008–09, he averaged 20.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 11.5 assists per game, and helped lead Parker to a 5A state championship runner-up finish. Considered a five-star recruit by Rivals.com, Bledsoe was listed as the No. 3 point guard and the No. 23 player in the nation in 2009.
On May 6, 2009, Bledsoe committed to play for Kentucky. He picked Kentucky over Memphis. Bledsoe, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, cited new UK coach John Calipari and Kentucky’s love for basketball as factors. “When Alabama recruited him at the end, he said, ‘Coach, it’s pretty much football, football, football all the time,’ “said Maurice Ford, Bledsoe’s coach at Birmingham’s Parker High School. ” ‘I’m a basketball player. Every time I pick up the paper, they’re writing about football. Coach, I want to go where basketball is important, where everyone knows and loves the game.’ ” Calipari, who earlier recruited Bledsoe for Memphis, played a “big role” in the decision, Bledsoe said. “I hung out with him a lot when I was up there,” he said of an official visit the previous weekend. “He told me I’d be his starting point guard.” Bledsoe joined John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Darnell Dodsob, Jon Hood, and Daniel Orton in the 2009 recruiting class.
Bledsoe played one season at Kentucky in 2009–10, and averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 37 games (35 starts) to help the Wildcats to a 35–3 record and Elite Eight appearance. He was named to the Sporting News SEC All-Freshman Team and was a CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-American. He scored in double digits 20 times, including four games with at least 20 points. In four NCAA tournament games, he averaged 15.3 points and set a Kentucky school record of eight made three-pointers in an NCAA tournament game against East Tennessee State in scoring a career-high 29 points (9–11 FG, 8–9 3 FG). Despite being a natural point guard, Bledsoe often filled the shooting guard role playing alongside fellow freshman John Wall.
On April 7, 2010, Bledsoe declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility. He was selected as the 18th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder but was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers.
College Statistics:
NCAA
Season | Team | MIN | FGM | FGA | 3PM | 3PA | FTM | FTA | OR | DR | PF | AST | TO | BLK | STL | PTS | G | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kentucky | 1122 | 144 | 311 | 49 | 128 | 82 | 123 | 19 | 94 | 82 | 106 | 111 | 12 | 52 | 419 | 37 | 30.3 | 46.30 | 66.67 | 38.28 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 11.3 | |
Total | - | 1122 | 144 | 311 | 49 | 128 | 82 | 123 | 19 | 94 | 82 | 106 | 111 | 12 | 52 | 419 | 37 | 30.3 | 46.30 | 66.67 | 38.28 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 11.3 |
Career Totals
Season | MIN | FGM | FGA | 3PM | 3PA | FTM | FTA | OR | DR | PF | AST | TO | BLK | STL | PTS | G | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3P% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009-10 | 1122 | 144 | 311 | 49 | 128 | 82 | 123 | 19 | 94 | 82 | 106 | 111 | 12 | 52 | 419 | 37 | 30.3 | 46.30 | 66.67 | 38.28 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 11.3 |
Total | 1122 | 144 | 311 | 49 | 128 | 82 | 123 | 19 | 94 | 82 | 106 | 111 | 12 | 52 | 419 | 37 | 30.3 | 46.30 | 66.67 | 38.28 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 11.3 |
