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Jazz To Sign Blake Ahearn to a 10-Day Contract

SALT LAKE CITY (April 9, 2012) – Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team is expected to sign Blake Ahearn of the NBA Development League’s Reno Bighorns to a 10-day contract. Ahearn becomes the NBA’s 50th D-League Call-Up this season. Following the transaction, the Jazz roster will stand at 15 players.

Ahearn is expected to practice on Tuesday and will travel with the Jazz when the team faces the Rockets Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT (FSN Utah, 1320 KFAN) in Houston.

A 2012 D-League All-Star selection, Ahearn (6-3, 190, Missouri State) appeared in 37 games, all starts, for the Bighorns this season, averaging 23.8 points, 5.1 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 37.5 minutes. Ahearn scored in double figures in all 37 appearances, including eight games scoring 30 points or more points. During the season, Ahearn established the NBA D-League’s all-time record for consecutive made free throws when he connected on 110 in a row between December 2011 and January 2012. The record tops the NBA mark of 97 set by Micheal Williams in 1993.

A five-year NBA D-League veteran, Ahearn returns to the NBA having played with the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, respectively. In 15 career NBA games Ahearn averaged 5.2 points, 1.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 13.0 minutes.

Ahearn becomes the eighth D-League Call-Up in Jazz history, joining Rusty LaRue (2000-01), Mikki Moore (2003-04), Louis Amundson (2006-07), Sundiata Gaines (2010-11), Othyus Jeffers (2010-11), Marcus Cousin (2011-12) and Kyle Weaver (2011-12).