Blake Justice finished his fourth season on the bench for the Blazers as he has helped the Blazers to a blistering 102-22 record since the 2016-17 season when he was a graduate assistant, and is 76-16 mark since taking over the head assistant position in 2017. Â
Justice was announced the assistant coach for Valdosta State basketball in August of 2017 after spending the 2016-17 season as a graduate assistant helping the Blazers to a 26-6 record and a Gulf South Conference Regular Season Title. Â
The four-year stretch while Justice has been on the sidelines has been the best in program history for VSU as the red and black has won four-straight conference regular season titles and qualified for the NCAA Tournament each year. During his tenure, the Blazers have won school-record streaks of consecutive games of 18 (2017-18) and 19 (2019-20) games in a row. In 2020, Justice was named to the NABC Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team, which represents 30 of the most outstanding men's college basketball coaches under the age of 30.
Justice had the opportunity of helping coach his younger brother Beau, who graduated as one of the best players to don the Blazer uniform in program history. Beau Justice earned multiple All-America honors, including NABC All-America, while being named GSC Player of the Year and honored among the GSC's Top Ten. He set numerous school-records and finished fifth all-time in scoring with 1,754 points in just three years as a Blazer. Blake Justice also had the honor of coaching Clay Guillozet who also capped an outstanding career this season as he became the 27th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Guillozet was named GSC Player of the Year in 2019-20 and earned multiple all-region honors. VSU went 26-4 in 2019-20, and 18-2 in Gulf South Conference play. The Blazers reached the championship game of the GSC Tournament and earned a No. 3-seed in the NCAA South Regional. Â
Justice joined the Valdosta State coaching staff as a familiar name among faithful followers of Blazer basketball. Just two seasons ago, the sharpshooting guard joined theÂ
short list of 1,000 point scorers in the Valdosta State basketball record books. His display of skill and knowledge as a player led to a graduate assistant coaching position with head coach Mike Helfer's staff in 2016-17.
"This is an amazing opportunity, having the chance to coach at the same school I played for," said Justice after he was hired in August of 2017 in his assistant role. "Valdosta State has been a huge part of mine and my family's life for the past four years, and I could not ask for a better community to be a part of. Coach Helfer bringing me on board is just the icing on the cake in terms of all of the opportunities he has given me throughout the years. It's an honor to start my coaching career under someone with as much experience and success, and the chance to coach my younger brother will be a special opportunity that doesn't come often at the collegiate level."
Following his tremendous three-year playing career at Valdosta State, Justice complemented his time as a graduate assistant coach with a stint as a professional player in Germany.
Justice is married to Madison Leighann Justice and the couple has a daughter Leighton Leighann Justice, born Nov. 21, 2019. Â
