In his most recent performance against Oklahoma Baptist, graduate student Drew Blair he officially became the University of Minnesota Duluth men’s basketball program’s newest all time points leader. He surpassed the previous record of 2,045 set by former Bulldog forward Brandon Myer (2016-19).
The Stevens Point, Wisconsin native grew up surrounded by a culture of sports success. His parents used their careers as successful college athletes to instill a love for sports in Drew and his siblings.
“I can’t even remember when I started honestly, as long as I can remember anything I was playing basketball with the family. It was kind of just part of our family’s identity and was a big part of how me, my brother, and my sister were raised,” said Blair.
Blair averaged 28.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his senior season at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). He was twice named a WBCA All-State performer in Wisconsin and helped lead SPASH to a pair of Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I championships. Before graduating in the spring of 2018, he landed the Wisconsin Valley Conference Player of the Year award on two occasions and broke the single season scoring record at SPASH.
Coming out of high school, Blair had originally committed to play his college career at Northwest Missouri State. He would go on to decommit before playing a single game for the Bearcats, and head coach Justin Wieck was quick to jump at the opportunity to add the dynamic scorer to the roster. Soon after the reopening of his recruitment, Wieck was on the Blair family’s couch on a home visit.
“I remember we took a break for a while because the Vikings were playing the Packers and the game went long.”
The coach mentioned the family’s general love for everything sports, and credited that love for the game and his team win mentality to his initial draw towards the young sharpshooter.
Blair was able to make an impression early on at UMD, starting in 30 out of 31 total games and earning All Conference Second Team honors during his freshman campaign. He averaged 15.9 points per game, second on the team just behind former record holder Brandon Myer, and topped the Bulldogs going 112 for 128 (.875) from the free throw line.
“I knew right away that we had a really good player,” said Wieck.
Since then, Drew has led the Bulldogs in total points and average points per game in every season, all while collecting various honors including a 2022 NABC All Region team nod and 2023 NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.
Despite knowing the number he needed to break the record, he described it as something he never really keeps in mind. Especially when playing, he looks to focus on the win before any individual goals. After letting the moment sink in, he acknowledged how important it means to him to do what he has done in this city.
“I have just fallen in love with the city of Duluth, with the community, and with representing UMD in general. I fell in love with being a student athlete here, fell in love with cheering for other student athletes, there is literally no other university I would want to represent. It means the world to me, something that’s super cool that I will probably remember forever, but the biggest thing is being where I’m meant to be,” said Blair.
Drew will look to continue to build on his new record throughout the rest of his final year in the Bulldog uniform, and hopes to lead the program back to another run at the NCAA national tournament.