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]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1942-05-17) May 17, 1942 (age 80) Hazard, Kentucky |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Randolph-Macon Academy (Front Royal, Virginia) |
| College | VMI (1961–1964) |
| NBA draft | 1964 / Round: 14 / Pick: 97th overall |
| Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
| Coaching career | 1967–2001 |
| Career history | |
| As coach: | |
| 1967–1969 | E.C. Glass HS (assistant) |
| 1969–1970 | George Wythe HS |
| 1970–1972 | VMI (assistant) |
| 1972–1976 | VMI |
| 1976–1981 | Colorado |
| 1981–1983 | New Jersey Nets (assistant) |
| 1983 | New Jersey Nets |
| 1983–1985 | Chicago Bulls (assistant) |
| 1986–1991 | Washington Bullets (assistant) |
| 1991–1993 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
| 1993–1995 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 1996–1998 | Indiana Pacers (assistant) |
| 1999–2001 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
Blair is a 1960 graduate of Randolph-Macon Academy where he starred on the best basketball team the school ever had.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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 14th round.[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.[citation needed]
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.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1972–1976) | |||||||||
| 1972–73 | VMI | 7–19 | 3–9 | 8th | |||||
| 1973–74 | VMI | 6–18 | 3–9 | 7th | |||||
| 1974–75 | VMI | 13–13 | 6–6 | T–4th | |||||
| 1975–76 | VMI | 22–10 | 9–3 | 1st | NCAA Elite 8 | ||||
| VMI: | 48–60 | 21–27 | |||||||
| Colorado Buffaloes (Big Eight Conference) (1976–1981) | |||||||||
| 1976–77 | Colorado | 11–16 | 5–9 | 6th | |||||
| 1977–78 | Colorado | 9–18 | 3–11 | 8th | |||||
| 1978–79 | Colorado | 14–13 | 4–10 | 8th | |||||
| 1979–80 | Colorado | 17–10 | 7–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1980–81 | Colorado | 16–12 | 5–9 | 6th | |||||
| Colorado: | 67–69 | 24–46 | |||||||
| Total: | 115–129 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
| 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 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 3rd in Atlantic | – | – | – | – | L New York 0–2 |
| Minnesota | 1994–95 | 82 | 21 | 61 | .256 | 6th in Midwest | – | – | – | – | Missed playoffs |
| Minnesota | 1995–96 | 20 | 6 | 14 | .300 | (fired) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Career | 108 | 29 | 79 | .269 | – | – | – | – |
VMI Keydets head basketball coaches | |
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Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball head coaches | |
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Brooklyn Nets head coaches | |
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# denotes interim head coach |
Minnesota Timberwolves head coaches | |
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# denotes interim head coach |