Lance Blanks, two-year star for the Longhorns and longtime NBA presence, passes away
Lance Blanks, a standout on Tom Penders’ 1988-89 and 1989-90s teams who was part of the Longhorns’ “BMW Scoring Machine” before a successful NBA career as a player and executive, passed away on Wednesday. Blanks was 56.
Blanks, along with Travis Mays and Joey Wright, led Texas to its first Elite Eight in the 64-team era in 1990 with an exciting style of play. A transfer from Virginia after earning Mr. Texas Basketball honors, Blanks followed his 19.7 ppg 1988-89 campaign with a 1989-90 season where he scored 20.3 ppg on 40 percent shooting. He led the Longhorns to NCAA tournament wins over Georgia, Purdue, and Xavier before bowing out to Arkansas in the 1990 Elite Eight.
A captain of the 1990 team, Blanks’ name is all over the Texas men’s basketball record books. He is one of 40 in the 1000-point club with 1322 across his two seasons on the Forty Acres. His 671 points in 1988-89 are tied for eighth most in one year in UT history. Blanks’ 20.0 ppg across his two-year career is good for fourth-most in school history among players with more than 500 points. He also has the Texas record for most steals in a single season, with 111 during 1988-89. The Longhorns were 49-18 during his two seasons and his teams won four NCAA tournament games
He was added to the Longhorns Hall of Honor in 2007, and remained a part of the Texas basketball family as a commentator for many Longhorn home and road games with Longhorn Network and ESPN.
Blanks played for the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves during a three-year NBA career after he was picked with the 26th pick in the 1990 draft. He played in other domestic and overseas leagues for several years before entering the scouting world.
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After five seasons as an assistant general manager with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Blanks was named general manager of the Phoenix Suns in 2010. He held that position until 2013. He recently was a scout for the Los Angeles Clippers organization.
Blanks is survived by his mother Clarice, his brother Sidney Jr., the mother of his two daughters, two daughters, and a granddaughter.
“My dad was my person,” Riley Blanks Reed, Lance’s daughter, said in a statement. “He was my teacher, my idol, my best friend. The love I have for him is simply immeasurable. He carried his family and friends on his selfless shoulders and he was the wisest man I’ll ever know. The path ahead is dark without him but he once told me that he trusted my sister and me to carry the torch of our family’s legacy, and we will.”
His other daughter, Bryn Blanks Lewis, said in a statement: “My heart aches for the tragic loss of my daddy. He was our father, our rock, our superhero – the one who was there when we needed him most. Life will never be the same without him. I rest in knowing that his indomitable legacy and infectious commitment to family and community will live on forever.”
Said Lance’s mother Clarice, “My child, mama loves you.”
