Bill Blair (basketball)

William Henry Blair Jr. (born May 17, 1942[1]) is an American retired basketball coach. Blair worked twenty seasons in the National Basketball Association, beginning in New Jersey with the New Jersey Nets, and continuing to the Chicago Bulls, under Kevin Loughery, helping to draft Michael Jordan. He then moved to the Washington Bullets under Wes Unseld, and next the Indiana Pacers under Larry Brown—coaching spectacular teams with Reggie Miller at the helm. In 1993, he became the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, then returned to the Pacers, and finally finished his career under Randy Whitman at the Cleveland Cavaliers.[2]

Bill Blair
Personal information
Born (1942-05-17) May 17, 1942
Hazard, Kentucky, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolRandolph-Macon Academy
(Front Royal, Virginia)
CollegeVMI (1961–1964)
NBA draft1964: 4th round, 97th overall pick
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
Coaching career1967–2001
Career history
As coach:
1967–1969E.C. Glass HS (assistant)
1969–1970George Wythe HS
1970–1972VMI (assistant)
1972–1976VMI
1976–1981Colorado
1981–1983New Jersey Nets (assistant)
1983New Jersey Nets
1983–1985Chicago Bulls (assistant)
1986–1991Washington Bullets (assistant)
1991–1993Indiana Pacers (assistant)
1993–1995Minnesota Timberwolves
1996–1998Indiana Pacers (assistant)
1999–2001Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant)

Blair is a 1960 graduate of Randolph-Macon Academy where he starred on the best basketball team the school ever had. He made the starting five as a sophomore and was the high scorer his senior year in a season when they lost only one game which he and three other starters missed. When next they played the same school they doubled their opponent's point total. He scored 49 points in one game which is the school record. He played college ball at VMI where he led them to their first NCAA appearance in 32 years as their high scorer. In 1964 Blair was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the 4th round, but had to complete his military service of two years.[3] While in the Army serving in Korea, he played AND coached the 8th Army Division team which won the Korean championship and the Asian-Pacific Championship in Okinawa. He toured with the Army All Star team and won the Armed Forces Inter-service championships in 1966.

After two stints at Virginia high schools, he returned to VMI as an assistant, then a head coach. Blair led the Keydets to an NCAA tournament berth and an Elite 8 appearance.[4] After a five-year stint with the Colorado Buffaloes, he moved on to the NBA. He is now retired and enjoying life with his family. Coach Bill Blair is the ONLY college coach to both play in and coach the same team to the Southern Conference Championship and the NCAA tournament. He played (and Captained) VMI in 1964 and let them to the Southern Conference Championship and into the NCAA tournament, then returned as the head coach and in 1976 led them to the Southern Conference Championship and to the "Elite Eight" in the NCAA Tournament.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1972–1976)
1972–73 VMI 7–193–98th
1973–74 VMI 6–183–97th
1974–75 VMI 13–136–6T–4th
1975–76 VMI 22–109–31stNCAA Elite 8
VMI: 48–6021–27
Colorado Buffaloes (Big Eight Conference) (1976–1981)
1976–77 Colorado 11–165–96th
1977–78 Colorado 9–183–118th
1978–79 Colorado 14–134–108th
1979–80 Colorado 17–107–75th
1980–81 Colorado 16–125–96th
Colorado: 67–6924–46
Total:115–129

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

[4][5]

NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
New Jersey 1982–83 624.3333rd in Atlantic L New York 0–2
Minnesota 1994–95 822161.2566th in Midwest Missed playoffs
Minnesota 1995–96 20614.300(fired)
Career 1082979.269

References

  1. Marcus, Jeff (28 April 2003). Biographical Directory of Professional Basketball Coaches. Scarecrow press. ISBN 9781461726531.
  2. Bill Blair – Basketball-Reference
  3. 1964 NBA Draft
  4. 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book
  5. Colorado Buffaloes – All-time Results Archived 2014-07-03 at the Wayback Machine
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