Blair's legacy honored despite dropping final home game to South Carolina

Whether you’re a teenager or a 76-year-old basketball coach, leaving home isn’t easy.

The excitement for new opportunities and experiences is temporarily washed away by tears for what is being left behind.

Fortunately, Texas A&M women’s basketball coach Gary Blair has had a lot of practice saying goodbye. During a 50-year Hall of Fame career, Blair has bid adieu several times. Each time hurt.

“It’s very similar to when I had to tell my kids at South Oak Cliff (High School in Dallas) that I was going to the college game after we had just won 114 out of 115 games,” Blair said after an 89-48 loss to No. 1 South Carolina in his final game at Reed Arena. “It was just like my last day at Stephen F. (Austin) when I told my Sweet Sixteen team that I was going to the University of Arkansas.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Before tipoff, Gary Blair Court was officially dedicated in honor of the Aggies’ Hall of Fame head coach.

“And it was the same feeling when I left Arkansas to come to the bottom team in this league (Big 12) and have a vision of what we could build. It’s the same type of feeling.”

Blair ran the emotional gambit on Thursday night. He was all smiles in his pregame ritual of tossing candy to fans. He was intense and frustrated during the game. His voice frequently cracked in a postgame press conference.

“Not the way I envisioned it,” he said of the outcome. “Not the way we practiced. We practiced well for two days.”

That South Carolina prevailed was a footnote. That A&M couldn’t contain the inside strength of Aliyah Boston or the outside quickness of Destanni Henderson, who combined for 35 points, didn’t matter.

For the first time in Blair’s 626 games on the A&M bench, the final score was irrelevant.

The end result was of secondary importance to the end of an era.

The night was about A&M senior Kayla Wells weeping and expressing gratitude for Blair after the game. The night was about SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Texas A&M Director of Athletics Ross Bjork and legions of fans honoring an iconic coach.

“He built a program in Nacogdoches (at SFA),” Sankey said in a postgame ceremony held on the court that will now and forever bear Blair’s name. “He built a program in Arkansas. He built a legacy here.”

No doubt. Blair’s imprint on the Texas A&M program will be as enduring as his signature painted on Gary Blair Court.

Blair has won 444 games at A&M. He made A&M a fixture in the NCAA Tournament. He brought an NCAA national championship to College Station in 2011.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

“It’s really hard to talk about a transformational leader like coach Blair,” Bjork said. “And that’s what he’s done. He’s transformed the way people think about Texas A&M, especially women’s athletics and especially women’s basketball.”

Despite the national title, Blair’s most remarkable accomplishment may have been rescuing A&M from the women’s basketball trash heap.

In 2003, he took over a program that had suffered seven straight losing seasons under Candi Harvey and Peggy Gillom.

Three years later, the Aggies made the first of 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. It would’ve been 16 if not for the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the cancelation of the tournament in 2020.

Like Blair’s career, A&M’s streak is coming to an end.

After falling to South Carolina, the Aggies are an uncharacteristic 14-13. They’d need to win the SEC Tournament to earn a place in the NCAA field.

Typically, Blair isn’t giving up.

“This team just not has gelled like other teams,” he said. “But it is never too late. It will take five games to win the SEC Tournament, but before that, we have to get our confidence back when we play in Athens against the University of Georgia.

“We’re not finished this year. We’re not finished.”

Coaches always think they can find a key to victory. But the key seems hopelessly misplaced in a season with just too many fourth-quarter collapses and too much bad luck to garner national recognition.

Indeed, staff member Sydney Carter received more national attention for wearing tight pink leather pants than the basketball team did.

In a perfect world, Blair’s final game at Reed Arena would have been like the movie “Rocky” — a courageous effort to overcome tremendous odds.

Instead, Blair’s A&M’s tenure is concluding more like “The Sopranos,” a remarkable TV show with a disappointing final episode.

But like “The Sopranos,” a regrettable last season does not diminish the overall excellence of Blair’s program or the man who built it.

That’s why more than 5,800 appreciative fans showed up at Reed Arena to watch his final home game.

That’s why many of the scores of fans held placards that read: “Thank you, Coach Blair.”

That’s why students began chanting his name in the final minute, even though A&M was trailing by 40 points.

“I’m just glad they didn’t have an eraser and was going to erase my name on that court,” Blair quipped.

Blair often has a joke to share. Or a word of advice. Or a movie review. Or a book recommendation. Or, like a sweet old grandfather spinning yards, a story to tell.

“There is not one person you can find on the planet that would say a bad word about Gary Blair,” Bjork said. “And that’s rare. That means he did it the right way. He was a leader. He was involved in his community. He was simply a nice guy. But he won at the highest level, and we’re always going to treasure that.”

Blair is adamant that, given time, he can still win at the highest level. But as time changes, priorities do, too. Why spend time on the road recruiting or in the office game planning when he could spend more time fishing with his wife, Kyla.

“Kyla is going to teach me how to finish,” he said. “She had a better year than I did. She was angler of the year at Port Aransas this summer and won the flounder and the drum championships. She’s going to teach me how to fish.”

Blair doesn’t know how to fish but knows how to win. Give him a little time, and he’ll likely have his own fishing show.