Early 1980s star led Bulldogs to their only NCAA Final Four

He also was a member of Southwest Macon’s 1979 state and national title team.

ATHENS — Georgia basketball has lost one of its great players.

Terry Fair, who starred for the Bulldogs during their Final Four run in 1983, died in his hometown of Macon. He was 59.

The Bibb County coroner said Fair died of natural causes.

Fair’s Georgia teammates expressed admiration for their friend. James Banks said that Fair “epitomized toughness.”

“(He was) a great leader and teammate, was funny and played the game the right way,” Banks said. “We’re in shock right now as his teammates, but more importantly, as his friends. We love him so much.”

Derrick Floyd said that Fair’s impact on his life began before Floyd arrived in Athens.

“Terry Fair was one of the reasons I decided to come to Georgia to play basketball,” Floyd said, “andI am so glad I had an opportunity recently to talk to him. He will always be my teammate,

friend and roommate.”

“Terry was a player who never thought about ‘me,’ ” former Georgia coach Hugh Durham said in a statement released by UGA. “He was always thinking about the team. He played so hard defensively and would do whatever you asked him to do for the team. Those are the things that I remember most about him as a player.”

Fair was a member of Southwest Macon’s 1979 state and national championship basketball team, thought to be one of the state’s greatest high school teams ever. He was a high school All-American and part of Durham’s important Georgia recruiting class that brought in Dominique Wilkins, Lamar Heard and Floyd.

Fair played at Georgia from 1979-83, leading the Bulldogs in rebounding in three of his four seasons, and averaging 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds over four seasons. He played professionally in Israel for more than a decade.

In 1983, Georgia secured its first-ever invitation to the NCAA Tournament, with the Bulldogs’ run through the tourney ending in the Final Four. On their way there, the Bulldogs upset No. 3 St. John’s in the Sweet 16, with Fair scoring a career-high 27 points.

Fair was inducted into the Macon Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.

RICHARD DREW / AP Terry Fair played at Georgia from 1979-83, leading them in rebounding in three of his four seasons, and averaging 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds.