UGA, Southwest basketball star who won a HS national title and Final Four dies

Former University of Georgia basketball player and Southwest Patriot center Terry Fair died of natural causes on Thursday, according to coroner Leon Jones. Fair was 59 years old.

His death comes two weeks to the day after his former teammate Henry “Hook” McCarthy died. Both played under the late Don “Duck” Richardson.

Fair was a standout on the Patriots state and national championship basketball team in 1979 and went on to star for four seasons at the Georgia, where he averaged 12 points and 7 rebounds in 123 games.

“He was a member of an iconic squad that our community will cherish forever,” Barney Hester, Bibb County School District County athletic director said a release. “We are saddened by the sudden loss, but celebrate the incredible life he lived.”

Fair led the Bulldogs in rebounding three out of his four seasons and was part of the 1983 Final Four team. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1986. He never played in the NBA but played professionally in Israel for more than a decade. He was inducted into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

Former Southwest quarterback and current athletic director Joe Dupree said Fair left a great legacy at Southwest.

“He was truly an incredible basketball player and person,” Dupree said in the release. “He exemplified what it means to be a Southwest Patriot. We will miss him greatly.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 11:16 AM.