Gary Blair's Career Ends With Aggies Loss to Vanderbilt
With one game in Nashville, Texas A&M coach Gary Blair’s legendary coaching career came to an end.
Blair and the Aggies, a No. 12 seed in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament, fell to the triple-double of Jordyn Cambridge and the Vanderbilt Commodores, 85-69, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Cambridge stole the show from Blair and the Aggies (14-15), as her 15 rebounds, 13 points and 10 assists were the first triple-double in Vanderbilt (14-17) history.
It was also Vanderbilt’s first SEC Tournament win since 2016.
The Aggies did cut Vandy’s lead to six points at one point in the second half but couldn’t make the comeback stick. The win was also Vandy’s way of paying the Aggies back for a 76-58 loss last month.
And payback cost the 76-year-old Blair another day of coaching.
Blair’s career ends with an 852-348 record in 37 years as a collegiate head coach at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M. He led the Aggies for 19 seasons and turned them into a perennial NCAA Tournament competitor and a 2011 national championship, the first in the program’s history. Wednesday’s loss snapped the Aggies’ 15-season streak of reaching the NCAA Tournament.
Last week, his name became part of the court at Reed Arena, as it was named Gary Blair Court.
He rebuilt every program he coached at. He’s one of the few coaches to take two different teams to the Final Four. He’s in seven different halls of fame and missed out on being a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame last month.
But Blair wouldn’t talk about legacy during his final SEC Tournament press conference. He opened by making a request of the media in Nashville.
“Y’all have seen my career,” Blair said. “Let’s talk about the game and the future of these two young ladies up here (Kayla Wells and Destiny Pitts).”
And he left by letting them know his evening plans.
“I’ll be out listening to country and western music tonight,” Blair said.
ESPN’s Andy Landers, the former Georgia coach who has known Blair for years, did get Blair to reflect just a bit on his career after the game.
“State championship in high school (at Dallas South Oak Cliff),” Blair said with a hint of emotion. “National championship as an assistant coach (at Louisiana Tech). WNIT national champions (at Arkansas). National champions at Texas A&M. Put all four of those together and they all mean the same. I’ve had good people around me. I let people work. And I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”
Pitts led the Aggies with a season-high 24 points and four 3-pointers. Wells added 20 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the floor.
Cambridge wasn’t the only one who came up big for the Commodores. Brinae Alexander (23) and Iyana Moore (18) combined for 41 points. The Commodores started with a 29-point first quarter, their best of the season, improved to 5-9 against Texas A&M all-time and snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Aggies.
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