Sleeper Skinny Nate Blackwell Is Temple's Best-kept Secret

The first time Temple coach John Chaney saw Nate Blackwell was in 1976 during a summer basketball camp at Cheyney State College.

"Despite the fact that you couldn't help but notice how skinny he was, he had a certain cockiness about him," Chaney said. "When I say cocky, I don't mean like a braggart. He just was one of those people who automatically become the leader.

"I hardly notice kids' physical profiles when they are that young, but I try to project what they will be like as players down the road. He was on the court night and day, no matter how hot it was, whether it was raining or not. And he always had guys around him like he was the leader."

Blackwell's physical profile hasn't changed much in 10 years. He is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and a reed-thin 170 pounds despite trying Nautilus and other weight-training methods. Something else hasn't changed, either. He always has been and still is a leader, first at Southern High and now at Temple.

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"He is the best-kept secret in the East, maybe the country," ESPN and ABC basketball commentator Dick Vitale said this week. "The kid can flat-out play. I'm reallly impressed with his overall savvy. He doesn't try to make things happen that aren't there. He seems to know his people (teammates) real well. What I really like about him is he knows his limitations on the floor.

"He's a leading candidate for my Rip Van Winkle Team only because he isn't part of the Soap Opera scene, the TV scene where all the people know the players because they are on television so much. He is definitely among the top 10 guards in the country, among the Kenny Smiths, the David Riverses, the Mark Jacksons and the Tommy Amakers . What separates him from most of the point guards is he can score."

Blackwell is shooting 45 percent from the floor this season, averaging 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Projected over a 31-game schedule, he will finish fourth among the all-time Temple scorers and likely become the all-time assist leader.

The most recent example of his value came in the Owls' 76-65 victory over UCLA at McGonigle Hall Monday night.

Not only did he score 22 points, but his defense helped take Pooh Richardson - the highly publicized UCLA guard out of Ben Franklin High School - almost completely out of the game.

Blackwell took every big shot down the stretch, getting 15 of his 16 points in the final 16 minutes of the game as the Owls pulled away.