Bill Blair (basketball)

William Henry Blair Jr. (born May 17, 1942^[1]) is an American retired basketball coach and player. Blair attended the Virginia Military Institute for college basketball. As team captain of the Keydets, he helped lead the team to their first Southern Conference championship in 1964, which saw them attend their first ever NCAA Tournament. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1964 but did not play. He became a coach in 1967 and was hired by VMI to serve on their staff in 1970 and became their head coach in 1972. After three middling seasons, he led them to a conference championship in 1976 that saw then go to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. He left for the University of Colorado after the season ended. He coached five seasons before he was fired.

Bill Blair

Personal information
Born	(1942-05-17) May 17, 1942 (age 82) Hazard, Kentucky, U.S.
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: 4th round, 97th overall pick
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)
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

Blair then 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]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

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         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

^[3][4]

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	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		–	–	–	–

References

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