University of South Dakota Athletics

Blessen, a native of Columbus, Neb., was a dominant men's basketball player during his four seasons at South Dakota. He was a second-team All-American in 2000 and was named the North Central Conference MVP in 2000. Blessen was a two-time All-NCC selection and as of 2011, ranked ninth all-time in USD scoring with 1,523 points. Blessen also finished 419 rebounds and 192 career assists and shot 53.7 percent from the field, including 42 percent from three-point range. Blessen was part of back-to-back NCC Championship teams. He graduated from USD with a bachelor's degree in business management in 2000.