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Blue Tide player signs scholarship
Henry Blair headed to LaGrange College
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Long County High School basketball player Henry Blair Jr., signed a letter of intent to play college basketball at LaGrange College.

Blair said he is excited for the opportunity to showcase his skills at the collegiate level.

The 6-feet, 3-inch tall point and shooting guard has been playing basketball since the age of six, throwing down his first hoops for the Liberty County Recreation Department.

He was the first Blue Tide player to score 1,000 points and accomplished the task in three seasons. Blair was this year’s Homecoming King and was an honor roll student throughout his high school years. When not playing hoops he is the head technician in the media booth at Mt. Zion Chapel in Hinesville Georgia.

“The coach said he sees a lot in me and that means a lot,” Blair said. The standout senior said his strength is his ability to get to the basket.

“I am strong. I think it is hard for a small guard to guard me and I can hit the trey shot in the open,” he said.

“It means a lot to see my son get an offer to LaGrange,” his mother Andrea Blair said. “I thank God that he has this opportunity and I don’t think it his last opportunity.”

LaGrange basketball coach Kendal Wallace said it was more than just Blair’s athletic skills that he took notice of.

“We look for kids with good character. Young men that we know are also going to be successful in the classroom and he fits those criteria,” Wallace said. “He is a really good shooter and a good teammate and I a firm believer that being a good teammate is almost a lost art right now.”

The coach said he has a strong group of returning seniors on his squad for the upcoming season. But he noted that Blair will have the chance to fight for an immediate spot on the roster.

“I know he is going to make an impact within his four years. Transitioning from high school to college is always a difficult thing for every kid. There are very few exceptions to that…but if he can come in and beat out some of my seniors that is a different thing. We welcome the competition,” Wallace said

“Today shows that hard work and diligence have paid off,” Blair’s father Henry said. “He stayed the course during the ups and downs and he made it here.”

Dad said the entire family made some sacrifices to ensure their son would get every opportunity to play at the next level.

“We’ve had him in a couple of programs and some of the programs, where I was a part of, the direction they were going wasn’t conducive to where I thought he needed to be at to show case his talents,” dad said. “We had to make the hard decision and we had to move.”

The move might have been hard at first but for the Long County basketball team it was in due time.

Blair played one year at Bradwell Institute before moving to Long County and joining the Blue Tide right after they had a dismal season in 2014-15 going 6-22.

The following year the team went 20-8 winning the region championship. The Blue tide advanced to the second round of the state playoffs that year. During his junior year LCHS was 16-13, and played in the first round of the state playoffs. This year Blair helped his team go 19-11 and the first round of the state playoffs.

Blair averaged 19 points per game his senior year. He averaged 13.7 points per game, 1.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds and two steals for his sophomore and junior season combined.

In his sophomore year Blair made the All-Region second team and offensive player of the year. In his junior year he was the All-Region first team recipient and player of the year. His peers nominated Blair for the Georgia Positive Athletes’ Award.

Blair made the All-Region first team this past season as well as being named the Offensive Player of the Year and made the 3AAA all state basketball team.

Blair plans to study journalism and mass communications.

He said he would love to play for the Cavaliers but if that didn’t pan out he wanted to be a sports anchor for ESPN or other professional networks.

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