Bland would be the top reserve player as a freshman, playing more minutes off the bench than any other play. He would often rotate in to replace Allen Griffin, to provide the Orangemen with more size on the court and a stronger perimeter presence. | #4 Tony Bland |
| 6'4" | 180 lbs | Guard |
| HS: Westchester | Los Angeles, CA |
| Born: 1/27/1980 | Los Angeles, CA |
| Season | Cl | Pos | G | GS | Min | FG | FGA | % | FT | FTA | % | 3Pt | 3PA | % | Asst | Reb | DReb | OReb | Fls | DQ | TO | ST | BS | Pts | PPG | APG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-99 | Fr | G | 32 | 1 | 502 | 53 | 124 | 42.7% | 24 | 40 | 60.0% | 12 | 40 | 30.0% | 51 | 44 | 31 | 13 | 35 | 1 | 46 | 27 | 8 | 142 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 1.8 |
| 1999-00 | So | G | 32 | 32 | 669 | 86 | 194 | 44.3% | 20 | 32 | 62.5% | 22 | 70 | 31.4% | 55 | 52 | 36 | 16 | 38 | 1 | 36 | 33 | 10 | 214 | 6.7 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Career | 64 |
33 |
1171 |
139 |
318 |
43.7% |
44 |
72 |
61.1% |
34 |
110 |
30.9% |
106 |
96 |
67 |
29 |
73 |
2 |
82 |
60 |
18 |
356 |
5.6 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
Tony Bland was a shooting guard for Syracuse basketball for two seasons. Bland was a big guard with a decent mid range shooting touch.
Bland would be the top reserve player as a freshman, playing more minutes off the bench than any other play. He would often rotate in to replace Allen Griffin, to provide the Orangemen with more size on the court and a stronger perimeter presence.
Bland had earned a starting position on the team his sophomore season. He would start every game that season, and would score a Syracuse career high 22 points in a 76-63 win over West Virginia. However, Syracuse had a lot of talent at the guard position, with classmate Preston Shumpert, freshman DeShaun Willliams and junior Allen Griffin all vying for playing time, and senior Jason Hart a fixture at the point. Bland did start every game, but he averaged only 20 minutes a game. Unhappy with his playing time, and being across the country from his home, Bland left the team after his sophomore year.
Bland would transfer to San Diego State. He would sit out the 2000-2001 season.
| Season | Cl | Pos | G | GS | Min | FG | FGA | % | FT | FTA | % | 3Pt | 3PA | % | Asst | Reb | DReb | OReb | Fls | DQ | TO | ST | BS | Pts | PPG | APG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-02 | Jr | G | 33 | 32 | 1140 | 184 | 416 | 44.5% | 120 | 169 | 71.0% | 29 | 81 | 35.8% | 112 | 131 | 98 | 33 | 52 | 0 | 95 | 34 | 11 | 519 | 15.7 | 3.4 | 4.0 |
| 2002-03 | Sr | G | 30 | 30 | 1042 | 180 | 392 | 45.9% | 113 | 171 | 66.1% | 20 | 72 | 27.8% | 101 | 104 | 76 | 28 | 37 | 1 | 67 | 33 | 10 | 493 | 16.4 | 3.4 | 3.5 |
| Career | 63 |
62 |
2182 |
364 |
808 |
0.0% |
233 |
340 |
68.5% |
49 |
153 |
32.0% |
213 |
235 |
174 |
61 |
89 |
1 |
162 |
67 |
21 |
1012 |
16.1 |
3.4 |
3.8 |
Bland would score a career high 33 points for the Aztecs in a win over Houston in January 2002. Bland would finish he career at SDSU with 1,012 points, and was the team's leading scorer his senior season. In his collegiate career he would have 1,368 points for the two schools, along with 331 rebounds and 319 assists.
Following college, Bland would play in the USBL, Europe (Russia), and the NBDL. Bland would be Rookie of the Year in the USBL in 2004.
Bland would be an assistant basketball coach for the University of Southern California (USC) from 2013 until 2018. He was fired in 2018 when he was arrested following the FBI investigation of the Nike bribery scandal. [1]
© RLYoung 2009, 2018
[1] Syracuse Post Standard, Jan 26, 2018