How Shane Blakeney went from deep reserve to Drexel’s leading scorer

As an incoming freshman at Drexel, Shane Blakeney showcased his potential halfway across the world.

In the summer of 2022, Drexel played a mix of professional and club teams in Italy as part of an international tournament. In one of those games, Dragons center Garfield Turner found himself under the rim to grab an easy put-back shot. Then, a lengthy freshman swooped in.

“Out of nowhere, I just see this long arm come behind me and just punch it [in],” Turner said, laughing. “We were joking about that for a little bit. It was his first time Shane dunked on somebody in college.”

Now, the 6-foot-5, 200 pound junior is leading Drexel (16-14, 10-7 CAA) with a team-high 14.5 points per game, while spearheading the Dragons defense. Drexel is allowing the least points per game (65.1) in the conference, and Blakeney has come away with 22 blocks and 35 steals.

When he first arrived on campus, the guard was the same height but 25 pounds lighter. He struggled to get on the court due to his slender frame and had a few lingering injuries, so he was granted a redshirt year.

“Between high school and college, I went through some injuries, which was rough and kind of put me out of touch with basketball,” Blakeney said. “I hadn’t [gone] a year without basketball ever since I started, so I think transitioning back in that redshirt freshman year was difficult.”

Coach Zach Spiker added: “He’s playing 38 minutes a night. A guy that wasn’t able to physically get on the floor. Now we can’t get him off.”

Growing up in Rock Hill, S.C., Blakeney’s parents introduced him to several sports. He played soccer and football — attempted baseball, though he “wasn’t a big fan” — and swam competitively.

However, basketball was the sport with which his family was most connected.

Blakeney’s uncle, Charles Kirkland, was a standout at Cheyney University and played professionally in the Netherlands for nearly a decade. His cousin is Jazian Gortman, a former five-star recruit in the Overtime Elite League who played on the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder’s G League affiliates.

» READ MORE: Is Drexel a sneaky NCAA Tournament contender? A big final month will tell the tale.

At seven years old, Blakeney started practicing with Bobby “ICE” Isom, a South Carolina-based basketball trainer, and stayed with him throughout high school. When Drexel is on a break, Blakeney will drop by to work with Isom.

“[Blakeney] was committed to the work and never complained about it either,” Isom said. “I knew he was going to be a special talent at a young age.”

Blakeney started AAU basketball in third grade, and at age 15 jumped to Upward Stars Southeast, a premier travel team on the Adidas Circuit. There, he met Dylan Williams, now a 5-11 senior guard at Penn.

When Williams was looking to transfer to Penn from Triton College in 2023, his former teammate was one of the first person he called.

“The Shane then is a different type of build [compared to] now,” Williams said. “He’s more cut, taller, way taller. … We were like the same height [then] because I really haven’t grown since.”

Isom added: “I think encouragement was what [Blakeney] needed most while he was a scrawny, short kid heading into high school, trying to find his way in the world of basketball.”

At Legion Collegiate Academy, Blakeney played four years on varsity and surpassed 1,000 career points.

“South Carolina [basketball] is pretty similar to Philly,” Blakeney said. “I would say probably a little bit more skilled, but toughness wise, you got a lot of athletes down south that bump and bang. They all play football. It’s physical, and if you can’t be physical, you won’t really last.”

» READ MORE: Malik Rose and Bill Herrion turned Drexel into an NCAA Tournament team. Now they’re in the Dragons’ Hall of Fame.

Spiker also has the same mentality. During a high school practice that college coaches came to visit, Blakeney slugged at the back of sprint lines. The Drexel coach took notice.

“[Spiker] pulled me into the office afterward and kind of chewed me out,” Blakeney said. “A lot of the people would be like, ‘Oh, this coach is tripping.’ But our family was like, ‘Hold on, this is our values.’”

Turner nicknamed Blakeney “motor mouth” because he’s always talking.

Drexel guard Kevon Vanderhorst described his teammate as a “hilarious dude,” saying there is “never a dull moment with him.” While Spiker believes Blakeney’s personality is “refreshing and genuine.”

“I think I’m more of a bubbly personality than maybe some other teammates,” Blakeney said. “I like seeing that side come out of them. Talking, having fun, laughing is kind of what life’s experiences are about. … I’ve always been kind of a silly guy, so I had to learn to tone it down in class growing up.”

On the court, Blakeney is no joke.

“There’s two different people on the court and off the court,” said Vanderhorst. “I’d say off the court, Shane is funny, he’s very outgoing. On the court, Shane is straight business. Not a guy with a lot of jokes, and not a guy that’s going to take a lot of jokes.”

Blakeney has emerged on Drexel’s roster. He cracked the rotation in 2023, averaging 5.5 minutes. Then, he stepped into the team’s sixth man role, notching an average of 7.6 points last season.

“I had to learn to start taking a role of support and doing what you need to do to win,” Blakeney said. “And you don’t do that in high school. High school, you’re the man everybody loves. You go score points and look cool.”

» READ MORE: Drexel starts slow and can’t keep pace with Monmouth

Now the leader, Blakeney will be expected to carry his team in the conference tournament. Drexel will visit Hofstra on Tuesday (7p.m., Fubo) in the final game of the regular season. The Dragons are in fourth place in the CAA, and if they can stay in the top four, they will receive a bye in the 13-team tournament.

“Just seeing the work [Blakeney’s] put in, seeing his growth since we’ve been here, little skinny Shane when we first got here to now our top scorer — it’s great,” Turner said.