Blake Stepp

Blake Stepp is an American former professional basketball player, born on 4 February 1982 in Eugene, Oregon. He was named Gatorade Oregon Player of the Year as a senior at South Eugene High School and played point guard at Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2004, averaging 13.0 points and 5.0 assists, winning the West Coast Conference Player of the Year award in 2003 and 2004 and entering the conference hall of fame in 2012. The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him 58th overall in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft, but he did not make their final roster and went overseas, playing for Partizan in Serbia and Montenegro and then Valencia in Spain. He represented the United States at the 2003 Pan American Games and retired from basketball because of chronic knee injuries at the age of 24. He then played poker professionally, entering the World Series of Poker in 2008, 2009 and 2010.