Bo Lamar

Dwight "Bo" Lamar (April 7, 1951 – February 16, 2026) was an American professional basketball player. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he was a two-time consensus All-American at University of Southwestern Louisiana (now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), where he led the NCAA in scoring for the 1971–72 season. Lamar was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 American Basketball Association Draft.

College career

A graduate of East High School in Columbus, Ohio, Lamar attended Southwestern Louisiana, which transitioned to Division I for the 1971–72 season. Lamar did not even average 20 points per game as a senior in high school, playing alongside friend and teammate Ed Ratleff, but Southwestern Louisiana coach Beryl Shipley made him the focus of the SLA offense, with free rein to shoot. averaging 22.8 to earn Freshman of the Year in the Gulf States Conference. Eventually, the basketball program was given a two-year death penalty by the NCAA during Lamar's senior season, and that went into effect the next season.

Lamar was a two-time college All-American in 1972 and 1973, and was named first-team All-America for the 1972–73 season along with Bill Walton, David Thompson, and Ernie DiGregorio. During his college career he averaged 31.2 points a game, for a point total of 3,493 points, which remains among the top ranks of NCAA basketball. He is known for his extremely high long-range shot that some coaches say dusted the rafters.

Hall of Fame coach Jerry Tarkanian described Bo Lamar as "one of the best shooters he had seen."

Lamar averaged 20.9 points per game in 1974–75, being reunited with his college coach Beryl Shipley, during the season.

He played for three American Basketball Association teams: the San Diego Conquistadors (1973–1975), the rebranded San Diego Sails in 1975 (who folded after 11 games) and the Indiana Pacers (1975–76) before moving to the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger. In the 1976–77 season, Lamar played 71 games for the Los Angeles Lakers. Overall, Lamar averaged 16.4 points and 3.9 assists in 273 career games. His ABA averages were 19.7 points and 4.4 assists in 202 games.

Personal life and death Lamar was the Louisiana-Lafayette basketball color analyst on radio, before retiring to his native Ohio. He died on February 16, 2026, at the age of 74.

Honors Lamar was inducted into the UL Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1984, Lamar was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018, Lamar was selected for induction into the OHSAA's Circle of Champions by the Ohio State High School Athletic Association.