Alexander Keith Robertson Mair is a New Zealand

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and administrator. He was head coach of the

New Zealand men's national basketball team The New Zealand men's national basketball team is the senior men's national basketball team of New Zealand. The team is nicknamed the Tall Blacks. The ''Tall Blacks'' name is one of many New Zealand national team nicknames related to the All ...

from 1988 to 2000.

Biography

Mair was born in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

in 1944, and grew up there. After leaving school, he studied accountancy at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, and later became a teacher at

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

. After suffering a knee injury when he was 25 years old, Mair took up basketball coaching. He coached the Timaru Boys' High School team to the national secondary schools championship title in 1981. In 1980, Mair was appointed coach of the New Zealand under-20 team, before becoming assistant coach of the national men's side, the Tall Blacks, in 1984. He was promoted to head coach of the national team in 1988, and held the role for 13 years. During his tenure, the Tall Blacks achieved their first servies win against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1990, and series wins against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

(1990 and 1994),

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(1996) and England (2000). He coached the Tall Blacks to win the

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

in 2000, and also took them to the

2000 Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, the first Olympics appearance by the New Zealand basketball team. Mair coached the

Canterbury Rams The Canterbury Rams are a New Zealand basketball team based in Christchurch. The Rams compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Cowles Stadium. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as The Wheeler Motor Can ...

between 1989 and 1995, followed by two seasons as coach of the

Hawke's Bay Hawks The Hawke's Bay Hawks are a New Zealand basketball team based in Napier. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Pettigrew Green Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as the Taylor Hawks ...

. He served 18 years as a board member of Basketball New Zealand. Mair moved to Britain in 2003, becoming chief executive of Basketball England for the next 10 years. He was also a director of the

British Basketball Federation The British Basketball Federation, known as British Basketball, is the national sports governing body for basketball in Great Britain. It organises Great Britain teams for men and women in international competition. Northern Irish players norma ...

and a member of the Finance Commission of

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...

. He was appointed head coach of the Wales men's national basketball team in 2015, and is chair of

Basketball Wales Basketball Wales ( cy, Pêl-fasged Cymru) (founded in 1952 as the Basketball Association of Wales) is the sole controller and the national governing body of all aspects of the game of basketball in Wales. It is responsible for the management of th ...

. In the

2015 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, Mair was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to basketball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, Keith 1944 births Living people People from Taumarunui Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand basketball coaches New Zealand sports executives and administrators New Zealand expatriates in the United Kingdom Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit