Texas A&M’s Gary Blair opines on the demise of the WNBA Houston Comets

In an article in the Houston Chronicle, Texas A&M coach Gary Blair gave his opinion on the demise of the four-time WNBA championship team Houston Comets. Blair, while discussing the plethora of girl’s basketball talent in Texas, expressed disappointment that a WNBA team was no longer in the nation’s fourth-largest city.

It was a huge mistake for the WNBA to let the Comets fold (in 2008).  But now you can really see how big that mistake was. Look at girls basketball in Houston. It is one of the top sports in the area. And now high school and college games are what people watch since there is no pro team to support.

The Comets, an original WNBA franchise established in 1997, folded in 2008 after the league could not find a new owner for the team after Hilton Koch put the squad up for sale for $10 million.

Blair also discussed plans in the past to change the game for girls.

When I started coaching in the ’70s you couldn’t get enough (girls) to play 5-on-5 basketball.  A few years ago, there were talks that the rim should be shortened for the girls. It’s great now. Nothing needs to be changed. Look at the players coming up. They show how far the game has come.