Bo Lamar

American basketball player (born 1951)

Dwight "Bo" Lamar (born April 7, 1951) is a former professional American basketball player. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, he graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lamar was a leading NCAA scorer and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 American Basketball Association Draft.

A graduate of East High School in Columbus, Ohio, Lamar attended Southwestern Louisiana, who transitioned to Division I in 1971–1972. Lamar didn’t 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, that went into effect the next season. Lamar was a three time collegiate All American between 1969–1973, and was named First team All America in 1972 and 1973 along with Bill Walton, David Thompson and Ernie DiGregorio. During his college career he averaged 31.2 points a game, 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. “Bo Lamar is the purest shooter I’ve ever seen,” said Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Tarkanian. Lamar averaged 20.9 points per game in 1974–1975, 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 (1975) (who folded after 11 games) and the Indiana Pacers (1975–1976) before moving to the NBA after the ABA–NBA merger. In 1976–1977 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.

Lamar was the Louisiana Lafayette basketball color analyst on radio, before retiring to his native Ohio.

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.