Gary Blair Prepares For Another Visit From Coaching Past
Gary Blair’s past comes knocking for a second time this season when the Texas A&M Aggies host the Arkansas Razorbacks on Thursday at 8 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The call-back to Blair’s days as Arkansas coach at least gives the Aggies (11-9, 1-7 in SEC) some level of distraction from their current malaise, as they seek to win just their second game in 2022. Their only win this calendar year came against Auburn, 71-53, on Jan. 16.
The downturn in the Aggies’ play started with a Dec. 12 road loss to TCU. The Aggies are 2-8 in their last 10 games and must do everything possible to try and turn around their season to send Blair back to the NCAA Tournament as he heads to retirement.
Blair also gets one last opportunity to coach against the Razorbacks, a program he led for a decade before taking over the Aggies.
Blair arrived at Arkansas in the spring of 1993, fresh off a successful run at Stephen F. Austin. Blair turned the Razorbacks into a regular postseason participant, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament in just his second season. In 1997-98, he led the Razorbacks to 22 wins and a tie for sixth in the SEC before a run to the Final Four as a No. 9 seed. That team is still the only No. 9 seed to reach the Final Four.
Blair finished 198-120 in 10 seasons at Arkansas, taking the Razorbacks to five NCAA Tournaments and three WNITs. Arkansas won the 1999 WNIT.
Earlier this season, Blair and the Aggies hosted SFA, where Blair coached from 1985-93.
If the Aggies want to reach the NCAA Tournament this season, they need to start winning. The Aggies are talented, but the chemistry has been elusive the past five weeks. Four players are scoring at least 10 points per game — Kayla Wells (16.3), Jordan Nixon (11.5), Destiny Pitts (10.7) and Qadashah Hoppie (10.3).
Arkansas (14-7, 4-4), led by coach Mike Neighbors, has both SEC award winners this week. Amber Ramirez, the SEC Player of the Week, averaged 27 points last week against two Top 15 opponents, including a win over No. 12 LSU. Samara Spencer, the league’s freshman of the week, averaged 18.5 points and 3.5 rebounds.
Ramirez is the Razorbacks’ leading scorer this season at 14.6 points per game. Makayla Daniels averages 14.5 points, Sasha Goforth averages 11.1 points and Spencer averages 11 points.
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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.