Former Kansas State basketball great Rolando Blackman was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame Friday in Kansas City, Mo.

On Saturday he paid a visit to Bill Snyder Family Stadium to watch the football Wildcats, and took time to visit with the media. He said he was happy and proud. On playing in the program at K-State  run by the late Jack Hartman: “For me it’s just a continous move to show how a student-athlete can progress and to really grow here at Kansas State University. I had the chance to be here as an 18-year old all the way throughout to be 22, and I had a chance to really grow.” Blackman added he had a chance for an educational process and excellent athletics.

Blackman added, “With the people that are here that made the difference, the environment, the teachers. I’ve got my professors right here right now who are sitting with me and we’re getting a chance to talk about life, and the things that have happened so it always was greater than the game of basketball, but it’s been tremendous.

Blackman is remembered for his exploits for Wildcat basketball in the Big 8 and at Ahearn Fieldhouse. One big memory is his game-winning shot over number one seeded Oregon State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on  1981….a shot captured on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Rolando has that memory framed. “I’ve got one or two ( copies ) framed, and then I’ve got 32 others in a box.”

He noted Jack Hartman was the leader of the program, and another Wildcat player helped him during his freshman year. “And at the time I got a chance to learn a great deal. I was very lucky to be under the wing of Mike Evans, an All-American at the time, and understood exactly what to do in playing the game and executing. So it worked out. It worked out very very well, and I had the right people at the right time.”

Blackman was named Big Eight Conference Player of the Year in 1980 and an All-American.  He was a three-time unanimous All-Big Eight selection, and scored 1,844 career points, the second highest in Kansas State history. He later played for the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks of the NBA, and then finished his playing career on teams in Europe. Today he resides in Dallas, Texas.