DALLAS — When you look at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023, a lot of fanfare focuses on Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, understandably so.
There is another inductee with even deeper Dallas roots, however. His name is Gary Blair.
Blair was born and raised in Dallas and went to Bryan Adams High School, where he graduated in 1963. After graduation, he served in the Marine Corps and then used his G.I. bill to earn a bachelor's degree at Texas Tech University, where he also played baseball. He hoped to coach baseball in Lubbock, but instead accepted the brand new girl's basketball coach position at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas.
Blair was the first coach of the SOC girl's basketball program, where he remained for seven years and won three 4A state championships.
In 1980, he left SOC for the collegiate ranks, starting as an assistant at Louisiana Tech. While on the Louisiana Tech coaching staff, the team reached the NCAA Final Four four times and won two national championships, according to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, which Blair is a member of (Class of 2012).
Blair's first collegiate head coaching job was at Stephen F. Austin. He coached there for eight seasons, then led the Arkansas Razorbacks for 10 years (1993-2003) and ended his coaching career at Texas A&M. Blair coached the Aggies' from 2003-2022, winning the national championship in 2011.
Blair is one of only six coaches in NCAA history to take three schools to the NCAA tournament, according to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, which he inducted to in 2013. During his 28 years as a head coach in the college ranks, Blair's teams compiled a 645-263 record (71%).
Being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame only adds to the handful of Hall of Fames he's already a member of:
- Dallas ISD Hall of Fame (2019)
- Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (2014)
- Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2013)
- Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2012)
- Southland Conference Hall of Honor (2009)
- Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack Hall of Fame (2008)
- Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame (2002)
Blair joins the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2023 alongside:
- Gene Bess
- Pau Gasol
- David Hixon
- Gene Keady
- Dirk Nowitzki
- Tony Parker
- Gregg Popovich
- Dwayne Wade
- Becky Hammon
- Jim Valvano
- 1976 US Women's Olympic Team
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