Texas basketball legend Lance Blanks dead at 56

Lance Blanks, one of the best shooting guards in Texas basketball history, died in Dallas on Wednesday. He was 56.

Blanks' death was confirmed late Thursday. No cause of death was given.

With 1,322 points, Blanks holds the UT record for the most points by a two-year player and ranks 22nd in career scoring, though he once was the program's eighth-leading scorer. He ended his Longhorns career as the all-time leader in steals and still ranks fourth with 198. He also still has fourth place in career scoring average with 20.0 points per game, behind Kevin Durant, Raymond Downs and Larry Robinson.

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Blanks, who had been a basketball color commentator for the Longhorn Network, was working as a scout for the Los Angeles Clippers and was on assignment in Dallas when he died. He is survived by two daughters, Bryn and Riley, a former four-star tennis recruit at Virginia. Blanks began his basketball career at Virginia before transferring to Texas to play for Bob Weltlich and then Tom Penders.

He served in a variety of roles after his three-year NBA career with the Detroit Pistons, who drafted him with the 26th pick in the first round in 1990, and Minnesota Timberwolves lasted just 142 games. He rose through the ranks and replaced Steve Kerr as the general manager of the Phoenix Suns but was fired after five seasons. Before that, he was the director of scouting for the San Antonio Spurs for five seasons and assistant general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"My memories with Lance are kind of across the board," Spurs CEO R.C. Buford said Friday. "We shared great times with his girls and our kids, his family and our family. I was introduced to Africa by Lance’s participating in Basketball Without Borders, and he encouraged me to join. He was a great friend. His energy and his approach were infectious, and I just hope we can carry his spirit forward through his girls and through who we are."

Blanks was an electric and often controversial player for the Longhorns and helped lead Texas on a stunning run in the 1990 NCAA Tournament as they advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Arkansas one step from the Final Four.

"He could play," Penders told the Statesman on Thursday night. "I knew Lance could be an NBA player after about a week of practice. It was clear to me Lance was a highly competitive guy. He did everything at full speed. He never jogged."

Blanks was known for his athleticism and flair as well as his flamboyance and temperamental behavior on the court, often getting into volatile situations. He always was a volume shooter and was known for his highlight-reel plays and drives to the bucket. He once spit toward a fan at a Texas Tech game in Lubbock after he tore down a stanchion with a thunderous dunk, claiming that a Red Raiders supporter had yelled racial insults at him. A Baylor fan in Waco later held up a sign that said, "Spit for 3."

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During another game with the Red Raiders, he spit in the face of a Texas Tech player. He later apologized.

"It wasn't a malicious act," Blanks said at the time. "I definitely don't go around spitting on guys. It wasn't intentional, and I apologized."

A prolific scorer as well as a showman, Blanks was part of an explosive, three-headed backcourt known as the "BMW Scoring Machine" under Penders, drawing that title from the first letters of their surnames. Blanks averaged 20.2 points as a 6-foot-4 senior guard, playing alongside Travis Mays, at the time the all-time UT scoring leader and a two-time Southwest Conference player of the year, and Joey Wright. Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson called them the best trio of guards in college basketball as part of Penders' fast-break, high-octane offense, known as the Runnin' Horns.

Penders said at the time, "Lance is a hot dog — that's all he is. Have you ever seen Michael Jordan play? He sticks out his tongue and raises his fist. People (in Texas) aren't used to that type of stuff."

Blanks was known for his fearless attitude and flair for the dramatic. He famously did a little impromptu celebratory dance in the Midwest Regional semifinals after an eye-popping reverse layup that triggered a huge comeback against Xavier at Dallas' Reunion Arena. That spawned a new legion of fans and "Come dance with Lance" T-shirts during that NCAA run. The three guards combined to score 86 points and pulled away from Xavier for a 102-89 win.

Last season, Texas forward Timmy Allen banked in a buzzer beater from half-court to end the first half of a Sweet 16 win over Xavier in Kansas City, Mo., and did his own Blanks dance, to the delight of his teammates and Longhorns fans.

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Texas football and track legend Eric Metcalf befriended Blanks during their playing days on the Texas campus, and they maintained their close relationship afterward.

"A few years ago we did a symposium with UT athletes about dealing with pressure," Metcalf told the American-Statesman. "There were lots of kids there. Lance was great with them. It was me, him and Tyler Campbell (Earl's son). He always had a smile on his face."

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Blanks was known as a gregarious, affable man who worked behind the scenes to help others. He became a sounding board and confidant of new Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry. The two went to Africa last summer to work with Basketball Beyond Borders, a global community outreach program launched by the NBA and FIBA in 2001.

While with the Suns, Blanks traveled to Johannesburg with Basketball Without Borders and taught the game while providing community aid along with NBA legend and league ambassador Dikembe Mutombo, Luc Mbah a Moute (a BWB alumnus) and Luol Deng. Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Joel Embiid has spoken of the positive impact the program had on him. Embiid attended a BWB camp in South Africa back in 2011. He was recently named the league's most valuable player.

Blanks was the single father of two daughters and had a granddaughter.

“The love I have for him is simply immeasurable,” daughter Riley Blanks Reed said in a statement. “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.”

"Life will never be the same without him," daughter Bryn Blanks Lewis said. "I rest in knowing that his indomitable legacy and infectious commitment to family and community will live on forever.”

Born in Del Rio, Blanks moved to the Houston area, played high school ball at The Woodlands and was named Mr. Basketball for the state in 1985.

He was the son of former Houston Oilers running back Sid Blanks, the first Black scholarship player at an integrated school in Texas, at Texas A&I University. He was an All-American for the Javelinas from 1960 to 1963 and was inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Fame. He played for the Oilers from 1964 to 1968, the Boston Patriots in 1969 and the New England Patriots in 1970. He died in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Longhorns basketball legend Lance Blanks dies at age 56