According to a report from CBS' Sports Jon Rothstein, Indiana junior guard James Blackmon Jr. is expected to be cleared for full-contact work before the end of September.

Blackmon has been recovering from his third knee surgery since 2012. He tore the ACL in his left knee as a sophomore at Fort Wayne [Ind.] Bishop Luers, then underwent a meniscus repair procedure in the summer of 2015.

Blackmon played in 13 games last season before sustaining a season-ending knee injury - a partially torn ACL - two days prior to IU's Big Ten opener against Rutgers.

Despite missing more than half of his sophomore campaign, Blackmon opted to test the NBA Draft waters and go through the pre-draft process. This decision was aided by the NCAA passing a rule in January which allowed prospects up to 10 days after the draft to remove their name from full consideration and maintain their eligibility. He ultimately decided to withdraw his name and return to school in late May.

Blackmon averaged 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, shooting 46.3 percent from 3-point range while starting in 12 of the 13 games he played in last year.