Basketball statistics can often be subjective, but there is no doubt that Rolando Blackman is the best Panamanian-born basketball player in NBA history. His college career at Kansas State was outstanding: 1980 Big 8 POY, 2-time All-American, and 3-time Big 8 DPOY. His most famous moment is pictured below: a jumper at the buzzer in the 1981 NCAA tourney that helped the Wildcats clinch a 2-PT upset of #1-seed Oregon State. He later became a 4-time All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks and held the franchise career scoring record for almost 2 decades until it was broken by Dirk Nowitzki in 2008. He continued his clutch shooting after joining the New York Knicks by making the game-winning shot with 5 seconds left in Game 4 of the 1993 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Charlotte, and last month he was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Rolando about all of his accomplishments and we congratulate him on his outstanding career!
What are your memories of the 1980 NCAA tourney (you made a 10-foot jumper to send the game into OT but Tony Branch made a 15-foot jumper with 1 second left in OT for a 2-PT win by eventual champion Louisville)? That was a really big game for us in Nebraska. It was heartbreaking because we knew we had a team that could win. I thought we might get the ball back at the end but Tony’s shot took a couple of seconds to go down. We learned a lot about who we were and what kind of team we had, which would help us during the following season.
You were a member of team USA (along with Mark Aguirre/Sam Bowie/Isiah Thomas/Buck Williams) that did not get to participate in the 1980 Olympics because of the boycott by President Carter: what was your reaction after learning of the boycott, and which of your teammates impressed you the most? I was disappointed because you see all of the wonderful players on TV at the Olympics every 4 years. I was still proud to be a part of making the team and being part of an elite group. All of my teammates were impressive but 2 of the best were Aguirre (due to his great inside-outside game) and Isiah (who was a great PG despite being so young).
Take me through the magical 1981 NCAA tourney:
You made a 17-foot baseline jumper at the buzzer (which made that week’s SI cover) in a 2-PT upset of #1 seed Oregon State: where does that rank among the most clutch shots you have ever made, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It was a great feeling for all of Kansas State Nation, especially after seeing the SI cover with the purple border. It was an uplifting win for all of us because we had been working so hard all season. We had practiced that set over and over again so it was great to see it work in an important game.
You scored 21 PTS in a loss to eventual national runner-up North Carolina (led by Al Wood’s 21 PTS/17 REB): how often did your future NBA teammate Sam Perkins remind you of that game?! Sam just had a better-equipped team on that day. They were loaded with Al, James Worthy, and Matt Doherty, and they made it tough for us by changing defenses all game long.
You were a 3-time Big 8 Defensive POY and a 2-time All-American: what is the secret to playing great defense, and what did it mean to you to win such outstanding individual honors? The important factor to me was to be an all-around player. My coach Jack Hartman was a huge influence on me to play strong on both ends of the court.
In the summer of 1981 you were drafted 9th overall by Dallas (1 spot behind Tom Chambers): did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other? It was a big validation of all the coaches who I have had throughout my life, especially because I was taken in the top-10. They groomed me throughout my career and helped propel me forward to help me get to where I was after being born in Panama and immigrating to the US.
Your most memorable moment as a 4-time All-Star was in 1987 when you scored 29 PTS in 1 of the highest scoring All-Star Games of all time and screamed at the basket after making 2 FT at the end of regulation to send it to OT: did you think that you were going to make both FT, and how on earth did you beat an East team with a starting lineup of Dominique/Moses/Bird/Dr. J/Jordan?! We had some great players in the West as well so it was not a mismatch in any way, shape, or form. What was important about the FTs is that is what you practice as a child: I just got to live out the dream in a game involving the best players in the world. As the 2nd FT went in I just yelled out “Confidence, baby, confidence”!
In the 1988 Western Conference Finals you lost the 1st-ever Game 7 in Dallas history to the eventual champion Lakers: how devastating was that loss, and what did it mean to you to see almost 5000 fans waiting for you when you got back to the Dallas airport? It was very devastating because the Lakers were our #1 nemesis throughout my career. It was hard to not make it to the Finals against Detroit but we were a growing franchise that had come a long way since joining the NBA in 1980. It was great to see the fans showing their support because we all did it together.
Take me through the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals with the Knicks:
In Game 2 John Starks made his famous dunk over Michael Jordan: was everyone just in shock after seeing Starks do that? We had seen Starks do that in practice before but it was still a marvelous dunk. Jordan brought out the best in him and it was a highlight moment that put Starks on the map.
In Game 5 Charles Smith missed 4 point-blank shots in the final seconds: do you think you could have upset the 2-time-defending champs if Smith had been able to help you pull out the win in that game? We had a lot of opportunities throughout the game. Scottie Pippen had a couple of blocks on Charles and we just could not get the points that we needed. It was a nip and tuck battle and you cannot let up for an instant.
In 1994 you lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Rockets, and in 2006 coach Pat Riley admitted publicly for the 1st time that sitting you in favor of John Starks during Games 6 & 7 was the biggest coaching mistake of his career and that he has never forgiven himself: what excuse did Riley give you back in 1994, and was your reaction to his admission over a decade later? The main factor was that my teammates believed in me back in the day and told me that they thought I should be in the game. I believed in Coach Riley wholeheartedly and was thrilled that we had a chance to win the title. It was frustrating but it goes with the ups and downs of the game: I was very happy to play with the Knicks.
In 2002 you were an assistant coach for the German national team (led by Dirk Nowitzki) that won a bronze medal at the FIBA World Championships, and in 2008 Dirk broke your Dallas franchise scoring record that had stood for 18 years: what kind of relationship do you have with Dirk, and what makes him such a great player? Dirk is a friend and a nice guy who I have a great relationship with. He has worked so hard to become the great player that he is: it is not just about his natural ability. I knew that someone would end up breaking my record and for everything that he does I am more than happy to have a guy like Dirk do it because he is a player I can root for.