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David Blu

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David Blu
Blu in 2017
Personal information
Born (1980-07-18) July 18, 1980 (age 44)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican / Israeli
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegeUSC (1998–2002)
NBA draft2002: undrafted
Playing career2002–2014
PositionSmall forward / power forward
Number7, 13, 15, 33
Career history
2002–2004Maccabi Tel Aviv
2004BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg
2004–2005Benetton Treviso
2005–2006Virtus Bologna
2006–2007Fortitudo Bologna
2007–2008Maccabi Tel Aviv
2008–2009Le Mans
2009–2012, 2013-2014Maccabi Tel Aviv
Career highlights and awards

David Blu (born David Bluthenthal; July 18, 1980) is an American–Israeli former professional basketball player, who spent 10 seasons playing in the EuroLeague. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), he played at the small forward and power forward positions. He is considered to be one of the top three-point shooters in EuroLeague history.[1] He was also the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. He also represented the senior Israeli national team in 2010.

Early life

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Blu was born in Los Angeles, California, and is Jewish.[2][3] His mother was Jewish, and his African American father converted to Judaism.[3][4][5] He represented the United States at the 1997 Maccabiah Games, winning a gold medal.[6][7]

Blu attended Palms Middle School, and Venice High School and Westchester High School.[8][9]

College career

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Blu attended the University of Southern California (USC), which was founded by his great-great-granduncle, Isaias Hellman.[10] A starter from his sophomore season on, he was consistently one of the top players in the Pac-10.

In 2001–02, his senior season, Blu was named All-Pac 10 honorable mention.[3] He averaged 12.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He left school in 2002, to pursue a career in professional basketball.[11] His most memorable performance remains the 27 points he scored against Kentucky, in an NCAA regional semifinal upset in 2001, made by the USC Trojans team that was led by Blu.

Professional career

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Maccabi Tel Aviv

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After Blu completed his 4 years of college athletics eligibility, he decided to play professional basketball in Europe, and signed with Israeli professional team Maccabi Tel Aviv, of the EuroLeague. During two years with Maccabi Tel Aviv (2002–04), he helped the team to the EuroLeague championship in 2004, and to the Israeli National Cup title twice. He scored 20 points off the bench, in the 2004 EuroLeague Final, a 44-point Maccabi annihilation of one of the best team in Europe, Fortitudo Bologna.[12]

Following the 2004 season, Blu was signed by the NBA's Sacramento Kings, on August 7, 2004, but he was released in November, before the 2004–05 season started.

Dynamo St. Petersburg

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Following his release from Sacramento, Blu received an offer from the Russian team BC Dynamo Saint Petersburg, that had just signed David Blatt, who was the head coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, during the time that Blu was there. In 8 games played in the Russian Basketball Super League A, he shot 69.6% from 2-point range.

Italian teams

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After two months in Russia, Blu went to Italy, to play for Benetton Treviso. He shot over 60% from 2-point range, and over 51% from 3-point range, in the Italian League.[13]

In the summer of 2005, he signed with Virtus Bologna, and became one of their top players, with a scoring average of 20.2 points per game in the Italian League.

After the 2005–06 season, he signed with Virtus' intense crosstown rivals, Fortitudo. During the 2006–07 season, for Fortitudo, he averaged 16 points and 4.2 rebounds in EuroLeague play, and also made 46.8% of his two-point shots, and 53.3% of his three-pointers.[14]

Second stint with Maccabi

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On June 15, 2007, Blu returned from Fortitudo, to Maccabi Tel Aviv.[15] He averaged 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds in 25 EuroLeague games for Maccabi, as they advanced to the EuroLeague Finals, against winners CSKA Moscow.[12]

Le Mans

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On July 10, 2008, Blu signed a one-year deal with Le Mans.[12] Over 10 games in the EuroLeague, he averaged 12.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Third stint with Maccabi

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Blu in 2010.

In the summer of 2009, Blu yet again returned to Israel, and signed a one-year contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He finished the 2010–11 season with averages of 8.9 points and 3.1 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague,[16] and 10.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in the Israeli Super League. He named the 2011 Israeli Basketball Premier League Finals MVP. In July 2011, Maccabi extended Blu's contract for another year.[17]

In June 2012, Blu retired for the first time, in order to complete his college education in the USA.[18]

After graduating college in the summer of 2013, Blu signed a new contract with Maccabi Tel Aviv.[19] Following his comeback, after an up and down season, Maccabi won the 2014 EuroLeague championship, the sixth in the club's history, and his second. Over the season, he averaged 10.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, over 30 games played in the EuroLeague. In the EuroLeague Final Four, he helped his team oust CSKA Moscow in the semifinals, by scoring 15 points, with some crucial three-pointers.[20] In the championship finals game, against Real Madrid, he scored 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Once the season ended, Blu announced his retirement from playing professional basketball.[21][22][23]

National team career

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In the summer of 2010, Blu represented Israel, and he made his first appearance with them against Portugal, on July 19, 2010. Blu also competed with the senior Israeli national team at the EuroBasket 2011, where he averaged 12.8 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Accolades

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In 2006 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[24]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  PIR  Performance Index Rating
 Bold  Career high

EuroLeague

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† Denotes season in which Blu won the EuroLeague
* Led the league
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2002–03 Maccabi 14 0 11.1 .522 .368 .700 1.8 .4 .3 .0 4.4 4.3
2003–04† 17 0 10.2 .609 .462 .789 1.4 .4 .2 .1 6.2 4.5
2004–05 Treviso 10 0 18.1 .393 .276 .500 2.5 .9 .8 .3 5.8 4.7
2006–07 Fortitudo Bologna 14 10 31.7 .491 .533* .828 4.2 1.2 .6 .1 16.0 13.4
2007–08 Maccabi 25* 18 21.0 .488 .456 .929 2.4 .6 .3 .1 8.7 6.6
2008–09 Le Mans 10 8 32.9 .413 .360 .913 3.8 1.1 1.2 .0 12.5 11.2
2009–10 Maccabi 19 1 23.6 .409 .363 .880 3.0 1.1 .5 .1 9.3 7.2
2010–11 22 1 23.0 .448 .432 .727 3.1 .6 .8 .1 8.9 6.6
2011–12 20 6 24.6 .447 .375 .880 2.5 .5 .6 .0 9.3 6.4
2013–14† 30 6 24.8 .433 .406 .816 3.2 1.0 .6 .0 10.1 8.2
Career 181 50 22.1 .457 .411 .833 2.8 .8 .5 .1 9.1 7.2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "David Blu, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv". Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL. Archived from the original on May 15, 2014.
  2. ^ Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 9781602800137. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Yaniv Orgad and Vered Cohen (February 5, 2010). "Basketball / For Bluthenthal, third time's the charm". www.haaretz.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  4. ^ Eskenazi, Joe (September 10, 2004). "Jewish shooting star aims to make his mark in NBA". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  5. ^ Wechsler, Bob (2008). Day by day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 9781602800137. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  6. ^ Cohen, Vered; Orgad, Yaniv (February 4, 2010). "Basketball / For Bluthenthal, Third Time's the Charm". Haaretz. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. ^ Drape, Joe (March 24, 2001). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: EAST; U.S.C.'s Bluthenthal Provides Leadership". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  8. ^ "Former USC star keeps pro dreams alive - Daily Trojan". dailytrojan.com. November 3, 2009. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  9. ^ Davis, Carin (March 7, 2002). "The Basketball Diaries — Jewish Journal". jewishjournal.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  10. ^ ".USC 80, Kentucky 76". CNN. sportsillustrated.cnn.com. March 22, 2001. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2011.
  11. ^ "David Bluthenthal Bio". NBA.com. June 16, 2004. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c "Le Mans lands David Bluthenthal". Euroleague.net. July 10, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2009.
  13. ^ http://217.13.116.51/plantillas/jugador.jsp?id=BES[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "BLU, DAVID - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". www.euroleague.net. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  15. ^ "Maccabi brings back shooting ace Bluthenthal". Euroleague.net. June 15, 2007. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  16. ^ "BLU, DAVID - Welcome to EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL". www.euroleague.net. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  17. ^ Art-Up. "Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv BasketBall Club". Maccabi.co.il. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  18. ^ "David Blu won't return to Maccabi Tel Aviv". Spotando. Archived from the original on June 22, 2012. Retrieved August 30, 2012.
  19. ^ "Maccabi Tel Aviv announced David Blu". Sportando. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
  20. ^ "Maccabi rallies from 15 down to stun CSKA, advance to championship game!". Euroleague.net. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  21. ^ "David Blu turned down Maccabi's offer to come out of retirement". sportando.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  22. ^ "Yellow-and-blue moves on without Sofo". jpost.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  23. ^ "Com respeito ao Fla, Maccabi disputa título mundial para dar alegria a Israel". globoesporte.globo.com (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  24. ^ "Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Home".
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