January 29, 2006
First Impressions:
Reggie Theus
This
is part five in a six part series on the college basketball
coaches making the best impression with their new teams.
Coming
off a miserable 6-24 record last season, including an embarrassing 1-14
record in the Sun Belt Conference, the New Mexico
State Aggies were predictably picked to come in second-to-last in their
first season in the WAC as voted by the coaches in the preseason. They lost
three starters from that team, two of which – who happened to be the team’s
leading scorer and best point guard at the time – were dismissed by Coach
Theus before the season even started, because he thought they did not have
the best interests of the team in mind. Think Norman Dale.
So it’s
understandable if most people wrote off this season for the Aggies as a
rebuilding year. Instead, all Theus has done so far is have his team tied
for third place in the WAC, already matching last season’s win total in the
middle of January. With wins already over New Mexico, Hawaii and Fresno
State, no one will be overlooking them in the WAC Tournament, where the
Aggies could propel themselves into the NCAA Tournament for the first time
since 1999. They are currently rated 195th in the RPI, an
improvement of nearly 100 places from where they were rated last season.
More
importantly, Theus is establishing himself as one of the most underrated
recruiters in America. He has four solid transfers sitting out this year
who will be eligible next year, including Fred Peete of Kansas State, who
averaged 13 points a game for the Wildcats. He has also proven to be very
adept at recruiting in-state talent, even at the expense of their hated
rivals, the Lobos.
In
other words, the Aggies are only going to get better. It is not an
exaggeration to say that New Mexico State could be a legitimate threat in
the WAC for years to come.
This
is #5 in a six part series on the college basketball
coaches making the best impression with their new team. Tomorrow
is Matt Doherty of Florida Atlantic.
