Sophomore guard Jake Blackburn knows what he’s good at. As a guard for the Binghamton men’s basketball team who excels in 3-point shooting, his job is to make shots from beyond the arc. However, with opposing teams becoming more familiar with his shooting abilities, Blackburn is looking to find new ways to contribute to the Bearcats this season alongside his signature 3-point shot.

Blackburn’s biggest goal this season isn’t necessarily about scoring a certain number of points or reaching a particular statistic. Instead, he wants to make sure that he is doing his part to help the team succeed. Last season, he worked through his injury to play 14 games with one start and closed the season with back-to-back 11-point showings against New Hampshire and Maine.

“I don’t have specific numbers or anything like that,” Blackburn said. “I just kind of want to contribute. I want to end the season knowing that I did my job and I contributed the best I could to the team, and hopefully that’ll end up in us winning.”

One of the biggest differences for Blackburn heading into this season is his health. He was hurt most of last season, so it was difficult for him to contribute in the way he wanted to. Now that he is healthy, he expects to have more opportunities to play compared to last year. However, with more playing time comes the need to make sure he is taking care of himself throughout the season.

“This season’s definitely a little different just because I’m healthy now, so I know I’m gonna be playing a little bit more than last year, and so I need to take care of my body a little bit more,” Blackburn said.

Another thing Blackburn is looking to work on this season is his offensive game. Blackburn is known for being a 3-point shooter, and that is something he plans to continue focusing on. However, he acknowledged that opposing teams know about his shooting abilities and will be prepared to defend against them.

“I’m a 3-point shooter,” he said. “That’s what I’m in the game to do.”

Because teams are aware of Blackburn’s ability to shoot from beyond the 3-point line, he knows that he will need to find other ways to score. This includes cutting toward the basket, using shot fakes and creating opportunities for his teammates.

“Knowing that a lot of teams are gonna scout me and know that I’m gonna put up threes, it’s also about cutting and finding other ways to score, using shot fakes and getting other people open,” Blackburn said.

By working on these different parts of his game, Blackburn hopes to become a better offensive player and help the Bearcats in more ways than just shooting 3-pointers.

Blackburn also spoke about some of the games he is most anticipating this season, sharing that he is excited to play against Northwestern and Syracuse.

Both games will give Blackburn and the Bearcats an opportunity to compete against teams from major conferences, something that he said he is especially looking forward to.

As Binghamton prepares for the upcoming season, Blackburn is hoping to take advantage of his health and earn more playing time. Between his 3-point shooting and his efforts to improve other parts of his game, Blackburn is ready to bring his best to the Bearcats.