JR Blount - Men's Basketball Coach - Iowa State University Athletics

JR Blount

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
jblount@iastate.edu
Phone:
515-294-9342

JR Blount, one of college basketball's top up-and-coming coaches, is in his fifth season as an assistant coach on T.J. Otzelberger's staff.

Blount, who has 16 years of coaching experience, was named one of the Mountain West Conference's top five assistant coaches thanks to his success at Colorado State before he joined the Cyclone staff.

In just four years at Iowa State, Blount has helped the Cyclones to a 95-45 record and four trips to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones went 48-10 against non-conference opponents in Blount's first four years on staff, one of 11 schools nationally with 48 or more wins against non-conference teams.

The 2024-25 Cyclones finished the year 25-10 overall and 13-7 in the Big 12 with an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa State climbed to as high as No. 2 in the country in the AP Poll, the highest ranking in program history. ISU finished the season ranked No. 17 in the AP Top 25, the 12th time in program history the Cyclones have been ranked in the final poll. Iowa State ended the season in the AP Top 25 for the 32nd-straight week, the seventh-longest streak in the country. The Cyclones ended the season with four Top 25 victories, tied for the 10th-most in program history. Curtis Jones was named an AP All-American, while earning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team honors. Joshua Jefferson was named All-Big 12 Second Team and to the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert were named to the All-Big 12 Third Team, while Lipsey was also selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

In 2023-24, the Cyclones won the Big 12 Championship and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones finished with a 29-8 overall record and a 13-5 league record, the second-most wins in school history. The 37 games played are tied for the most in program history. The Cyclones went a perfect 18-0 at Hilton Coliseum, the fifth undefeated year in the building's storied history. Iowa State had seven Top 25 victories on the year, including two wins over Houston when it was ranked No. 1 and No. 2 and a victory over No. 7 Kansas.

The 2022-23 Cyclones finished 19-14 on the year and 9-9 in the Big 12. Iowa State advanced to the NCAA Tournament and the Big 12 Championship Semifinals, while also playing in the championship game of the Phil Knight Invitational in November. Iowa State opened the year with a 13-2 record, with the only losses coming to eventual National Champion UConn in the PKI Championship and at Iowa. Over the first 15 games of the year, the Cyclones knocked off No. 1 North Carolina, No. 12 Baylor and No. 17 TCU.

Iowa State led the nation with six wins over AP Top 10 schools. The Cyclones were one of two teams to have eight or more wins against AP Top 25 teams, as Texas (10) and Iowa State (9) led the country. The nine AP Top 25 victories are tied for the most in school history in a season.

In his first season in Ames, Iowa State created headlines with one of college basketball's greatest turnarounds ever. A season after the program won just two games, the Cyclones improved to 22-13 and reached the NCAA Tournament. ISU, which was unanimously picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference before the season, reached the Sweet 16 with victories over LSU and Wisconsin to post the third-best win improvement in Division I men's basketball history.

ISU had one of the nation's best defenses in 2021-22, ranking among the Top 25 in scoring defense, defensive efficiency, steals and turnovers forced.

Blount played a key role in mentoring Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Izaiah Brockington and Big 12 Freshman of the Year Tyrese Hunter.

Blount has steadily risen through the college coaching ranks since starting his career as graduate assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2009, where the team won the 2010 Division III national championship.

After spending three seasons at Saint Leo University as an assistant and associate head coach, Blount moved to Des Moines and served as Drake's director of basketball operations and assistant coach for four seasons.

Prior to coming to Iowa State, Blount spent the last three seasons at Colorado State as an assistant coach. In his time in Fort Collins, the Rams signed the highest-rated recruiting class in school history.

Blount worked closely and was instrumental in the development of two-time All-Mountain West player Nico Carvacho. In 2020-21, three Rams earned All-MWC honors as CSU ranked among the league's top three in scoring and scoring defense.

The Rams made marked improvements as a team as well, improving by eight wins after his first season at the school and winning 20 games before the season was ended due to COVID-19. In 2020-21, Colorado State went 20-8 and advanced to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals.

Blount was an integral leader of the TOGETHER INITIATIVE at Colorado State that promoted social justice and racial equality on campus.

Blount played collegiately at Loyola (Ill.) from 2005-09, where he was a three-year team captain and twice named the team’s most valuable player. He was twice honored as the school’s athlete of the year.

After his college playing career was over, Blount played professionally for the British Basketball League's Leicester Riders during the 2010-11 season.

He earned degrees in psychology and sociology from Loyola in 2009 and later received his master’s degree in education from UW-Stevens Point in 2012.

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Blount was a standout high school player at Dominican High School, earning all-state honors in 2004 and 2005. He was named Wisconsin Sports Player of the Year in 2005.

Blount and his wife, Ashley, have three daughters, Maya, Zuri and Gema.