Missouri State star Ahearn signs with Miami Heat
Missouri State University's Blake Ahearn is headed to the National Basketball Association.
Ahearn, a former two-time Missouri State Coors Player of the Year and two-time Missouri Valley Conference all-league first team selection will experience a notable culture and weather shock as he heads from his current assignment in the NBA Development League in Bismarck, N.D., to Miami, Fla., to join the NBA's Miami Heat.
Ahearn plans to fly from Bismarck to Minneapolis, Minn., Thursday evening and from Minneapolis to Miami Friday where he is slated to sign a 10-day contract with the Heat Friday and be in uniform Friday night for the Heat's home game against the Washington Wizards. Miami is scheduled for seven games in the 10-day period that would be covered by Ahearn's initial contract.
The 2007 Missouri State graduate from St. Louis, Mo., found himself on the radar of several NBA teams after an eye-popping six weeks from Feb. 1 to the present in his 15 games as a starter for the D League Dakota Wizards. In that span, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder averaged 29.1 points a game to raise his Dakota season scoring average from 13.1 to 19.1 points a game. He had six games with 30 or more points with a top game of 45 points in those 15 outings. Ahearn also averaged 5.7 assists a game over 15 games after moving to the Wizards' point guard spot.
In Tuesday night's Dakota home game vs. Anaheim, Ahearn missed his first free throw since Feb. 14, a span of 13 games, during which he connected on a Wizards' record 78 free throws in a row. Ahearn is shooting a league-leading .960 (192 of 200) from the foul line. In second place in D league free throw percentage is Randy Livingston of Idaho at .913.
A fourth round D League draft pick, Ahearn led MSU in scoring as a junior and senior and finished seventh on the all-time Missouri State scoring list with his career total of 1,677 points. Playing on 22-win Missouri State teams for coach Barry Hinson his last two years with the Bears, Ahearn set school and Valley records for consecutive free throws with 60 in a row once each as a freshman and sophomore. His .975 FT work (117/120) as a freshman set a Division I single season percentage mark, and his final figure of .946 (435/460) established a new NCAA career record. Ahearn graduated from MSU in August 2007 with a degree in marketing.
Ahearn would represent Missouri State's first NBA signee since forward Hubert Henderson in 1989. Ahearn would become the eighth former Bear to sign an NBA pact.
Neosho Daily News