View source for George Blaney

{{Short description|American basketball player and coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name         = George Blaney 
| image        = 
| width        =
| caption      =
| height_ft    = 6
| height_in    = 1
| weight_lb    = 175
| birth_date   = {{birth date and age|1939|11|12}}
| birth_place  = [[Jersey City, New Jersey]], U.S.
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| high_school  = [[St. Peter's Preparatory School|St. Peter's Prep]]<br/>(Jersey City, New Jersey)
| college      = [[Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball|Holy Cross]] (1958–1961)
| draft_year   = 1961
| draft_round  = 4
| draft_pick   = 33
| draft_team   = [[New York Knicks]]
| career_start = 1961
| career_end   = 1967
| career_number   = 15
| career_position = [[Point guard]]
| coach_start     = 
| coach_end       = 
| years1          = {{nbay|1961|full=y}}
| team1           = [[New York Knicks]]
| years2          = 1962–1964
| team2           = [[Trenton Colonials]]
| years3          = 1964–1966
| team3           = [[Camden Bullets]]
| years4          = 1966–1967
| team4           = [[Allentown Jets]]
| cyears1         = 1967–1969
| cteam1          = [[Stonehill Skyhawks men's basketball|Stonehill]]
| cyears2         = 1969–1972
| cteam2          = [[Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball|Dartmouth]]
| cyears3         = 1972–1994
| cteam3          = [[Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball|Holy Cross]]
| cyears4         = 1994–1997
| cteam4          = [[Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball|Seton Hall]]
| cyears5         = 2000–2013
| cteam5          = [[UConn Huskies men's basketball|Connecticut]] (assistant)
| highlights      = 
* All-[[Eastern Professional Basketball League|EPBL]] Second Team (1964)
| stats_league    = NBA
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 117 (3.3 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 36 (1.0 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 45 (1.3 apg)
}}
'''George R. Blaney''' (born November 12, 1939) is an American former [[basketball]] player and coach.<ref>{{cite web|title=George Blaney|url=http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/blaney_george00.html|work=UConn Huskies|access-date=9 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101000021/http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/blaney_george00.html|archive-date=1 January 2011}}</ref>

Blaney played high school basketball at [[St. Peter's Preparatory School]] in Jersey City.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071218092140/http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BLANEGE01 George Blaney]}}, databaseBasketball.com. Accessed November 4, 2007.</ref>

After playing basketball at the [[College of the Holy Cross]] during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the 6'1" Blaney spent one season with the [[New York Knicks]] of the [[National Basketball Association]].

Blaney played in the [[Eastern Professional Basketball League]] (EPBL) for the Trenton Colonials, [[Camden Bullets]] and [[Allentown Jets]] from 1962 to 1967.<ref name=sc>{{cite web |title=George Blaney minor league basketball statistics |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbasketball/stats/p-blanegeo001 |website=Stats Crew |access-date=February 16, 2025}}</ref> He was selected to the All-EPBL Second Team in 1964.<ref name=sc/>

He served as the head basketball coach at [[Stonehill College]] from 1967 to 1969 and [[Dartmouth College]] from 1969 to 1971. From 1972 to 1994, he served as head coach of Holy Cross, compiling a 357–276 overall record.  He then became head coach at [[Seton Hall University]], where he led the team to the NIT twice before being fired following the 1996–97 season.

In 2000, he began serving as an assistant head coach at the [[University of Connecticut]].  Blaney, while filling in for [[Jim Calhoun]], made he history at UConn on January 23, 2010, when UConn defeated the top–ranked of Texas Longhorns, 88–74.  It marked the first time that an opponent had come to [[Gampel Pavilion]] ranked first in the nation, and was subsequently the first time UConn ousted the nation's top team at home.

Blaney also filled in for Calhoun for 11 games in the 2011–12 season.  He is credited with the first three games of the 2011–12 [[Big East Conference]] season, when Calhoun sat out a conference-imposed suspension for recruiting violations.<ref>{{cite news|last=AP|title=Jim Calhoun not credited with wins|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7429657/ncaa-credits-last-two-uconn-huskies-wins-george-blaney-not-jim-calhoun|access-date=January 6, 2012|work=ESPN|date=January 5, 2012}}</ref>  He also served as interim coach throughout February 2012, when Calhoun went on medical leave; those eight games, however, are credited to Calhoun.

Blaney announced his retirement on June 13, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/9380608/george-blaney-retiring-connecticut|title=George Blaney announces retirement|work=ESPN|date=June 13, 2013|access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref>

==Career statistics==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

===NBA===
Source<ref name=bbr>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/blanege01.html|title=George Blaney NBA stats|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=17 January 2024}}</ref>

====Regular season====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! GP
! MPG
! FG%
! FT%
! RPG
! APG
! PPG
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| {{nbay|1961}}
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1961–62 New York Knicks season|New York]]
| 36 || 10.1 || .380 || .529 || 1.0 || 1.3 || 3.3
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{navboxes|list=
{{Stonehill Skyhawks men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Connecticut Huskies men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{2004 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball navbox}}
{{2011 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaney, George}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Allentown Jets players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from New Jersey]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Jersey City, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Camden Bullets players]]
[[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball players]]
[[Category:New York Knicks draft picks]]
[[Category:New York Knicks players]]
[[Category:Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Shooting guards]]
[[Category:St. Peter's Preparatory School alumni]]
[[Category:Stonehill Skyhawks men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:UConn Huskies men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]