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Reggie Theus

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Reggie Theus
Theus in 2008
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats
PositionHead coach / Athletic director
LeagueSouthwestern Athletic Conference
Personal information
Born (1957-10-13) October 13, 1957 (age 67)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolInglewood (Inglewood, California)
CollegeUNLV (1975–1978)
NBA draft1978: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career1978–1993
PositionShooting guard / point guard
Number24
Career history
As player:
1978–1984Chicago Bulls
1984–1988Kansas City / Sacramento Kings
1988–1989Atlanta Hawks
1989–1990Orlando Magic
1990–1991New Jersey Nets
1991–1992Ranger Varese
1993Aris
As coach:
2002Las Vegas Slam
2003–2005Louisville (assistant)
2005–2007New Mexico State
2007–2008Sacramento Kings
2009–2011Minnesota Timberwolves (assistant)
2012–2013Los Angeles D-Fenders
2013–2018Cal State Northridge
2021–presentBethune–Cookman
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points19,015 (18.5 ppg)
Rebounds3,349 (3.3 rpg)
Assists6,453 (6.3 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American basketball coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the men's basketball head coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman.[1][2] He was the head coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings and in college with the New Mexico State Aggies and the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's teams. He was also an assistant coach for the Louisville Cardinals under Rick Pitino.

Early life

[edit]

Theus was one of four children of Felix and Willie Mae Theus. His parents divorced when he was four. His father had a janitorial business and died before Reggie's senior year in high school. For a brief period, Reggie ran his father's business after his death.[3] Theus attended Inglewood High School in Inglewood, California. Growing up, he also attended Monroe Middle School in Inglewood. As a senior at Inglewood, Theus averaged 28.6 points and 15.5 rebounds per game.[4]

College career

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Theus played college basketball at UNLV for head coach Jerry Tarkanian from 1976 to 1978. In three seasons with the Runnin' Rebels, Theus averaged 12.9 points, 4.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game. Theus, who became one of the best players to ever don a UNLV uniform, shot 81 percent from the free-throw line for his career while amassing 1,177 career points (21st on all-time scoring list), 401 career assists and 389 career rebounds in just 91 collegiate games.[5]

As a sophomore, Theus helped lead UNLV into the national spotlight as the Rebels went 29–3, advancing to the school's first Final Four in Atlanta. Despite losing by a single point to University of North Carolina in the semifinals, UNLV defeated UNC-Charlotte in the third-place game and set NCAA single-season records for most points in a season (3,426), most 100-point games (23) and most consecutive 100-point games (12). He averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 81.8 percent from the free-throw line and 49.7 percent from the field as a sophomore.

As a junior, Reggie was named a second team All-American after averaging 18.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.[5]

In 1989, Theus was inducted into the UNLV Athletic Hall of Fame and in 1997 he became one of only eight players in school history to have his jersey retired by the Rebels.[6]

Professional career

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Chicago Bulls

[edit]

After attending UNLV and having a successful college career, Theus was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 9th pick of the 1978 NBA draft.

A 6'7" guard, Theus averaged 16.3 points per game during his first season and was the runner-up for the 1979 NBA Rookie of the Year Award. He was second on the team in scoring behind Artis Gilmore, a future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. Paired in the backcourt with fellow UNLV alumnus Ricky Sobers, Theus followed his rookie campaign with a sophomore season in which he averaged 20.2 points and 6.3 assists for the 1979-1980 Bulls.[7]

He garnered the nickname "Rush Street Reggie" while playing in Chicago for owning an apartment on that street and having an active social life around that area, being frequently spotted at the city night spots.[8]

In 1981, Theus appeared in his first All-Star Game as the Bulls were 45–37 and made the 1981 NBA Playoffs. The Bulls won their first round series, defeating the New York Knicks 2 games to 0, with Theus scoring 37 points with 11 assists in the 115–114 Bulls win in the final game.[9] The Bulls faced the Boston Celtics in the next round and were swept 4–0 as the Celtics went on to win the NBA Championship. Theus was the leading scorer in game 3 with 26 points, and he averaged 19.8 points and 6.3 assists over the six playoff games.[10]

In 1982-1983, Theus averaged a career high 23.8 points per game as the Bulls leading scorer, but the Bulls finished 28–54.[7][11]

Newly hired Bulls coach Kevin Loughery decided to bench Theus for the first half of the 1983–1984 season.[12] On February 14, 1984, Theus was traded to the Kansas City Kings for Steve Johnson and three second round draft picks, a move that saddened many Chicago fans who enjoyed Theus' enthusiasm and energy; however, this indirectly freed up a spot for a shooting guard on the Bulls, part of a series of events that eventually led to their drafting of Michael Jordan that off-season. The Bulls finished 27–55.[13][12] Theus played for five coaches in five and a half seasons in Chicago: Jerry Sloan (1979–1982), Phil Johnson (1982), Rod Thorn (1982), Paul Westhead (1982–1983), and Kevin Loughery (1983–1984) .[8][14]

Theus averaged 18.8 points and 5.6 assists in 441 games in Chicago.[7]

Kansas City/Sacramento Kings

[edit]

Theus continued his impressive play with the Kansas City Kings and Kansas City won 12 of their first 17 games after Theus joined the team.[15] He averaged 16.4 points and 8.0 assists in 30 games with the Kings, as the Kings qualified for the playoffs under Coach Phil Johnson, who had coached Theus in Chicago in 1982.[16]

In the 1984–85 season, the Kings moved to Sacramento, California. In the 1985–86 season, Theus averaged 18.3 points and a career high 9.6 assists as the Kings made the playoffs again, losing to the Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson and the Houston Rockets 3–0 in the first round, as Theus averaged 15.0 points and 6.3 assists in the series.[17]

Over his four seasons with the Kings, Theus became a key scorer and distributor, averaging 18.8 points and 8.1 assists in 346 games with the Kings.[7]

Later career

[edit]

On June 27, 1988, Theus was traded by the Kings to the Atlanta Hawks with a third round pick for Randy Wittman and a first round pick.[7] He averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 assists for the Hawks in 1988–89, playing in the backcourt with Doc Rivers and alongside Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins and Moses Malone. Theus helped the Hawks go 52-30 and advance to the playoffs.[18]

On June 15, 1989, the expansion Orlando Magic, picked him from the Hawks in the expansion draft. The expansion Magic struggled, finishing 18–64. Theus averaged 18.9 points and 5.4 assists with the Magic.[19][18]

The New Jersey Nets traded a second round pick to acquire Theus on June 25, 1990. In 1990-1991 he averaged a team-leading 18.6 points along with 4.7 assists for the 26-56 Nets. Theus' NBA career ended after his Nets season.[20]

Theus had career totals of 19,015 points and 6,453 assists, averaging 18.5 and 6.3 in 1026 NBA games.

He played one season in Italy for Ranger Varese before retiring from basketball altogether in 1992. He also played along with Aris in the Greek Cup Final in 1993.[7] In that game he scored 9 points.

Theus is one of only two players in league history listed at 6 ft 6 or taller to tally more than 750 assists in an NBA season (788 in 1985–86), the other player is NBA legend Magic Johnson.[21]

Coaching career

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College

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In 2005, Theus was hired by the New Mexico State Aggies as the head coach of the men's basketball team after the retirement of head coach Lou Henson. In his first season, Theus turned the Aggies from a 6–24 squad in 2004–05 to a 16–14 team in the 2005–06 season – matching the fifth best turn-around for a Division-I men's basketball team. In his second year as head coach, Theus led NMSU to their 17th NCAA tournament, their first tournament appearance since 1999, and coached NMSU to its 14th conference tournament title which earned them an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.

Theus was named the head coach of California State University Northridge in 2013. In his first season with the Matadors he led them to a 17–18 record, but managed to reach the Big West Conference Finals, where they lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. On March 6, 2018, Cal State Northridge parted ways with Theus after a 44–107 record.[22]

On July 7, 2021, Theus was named head men's basketball coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman.[1]

NBA

[edit]

On June 19, 2007, Theus was hired by the Maloof brothers and guaranteed three years as head coach of the Sacramento Kings. He noted his hiring as coach had brought his career to "full circle", as he once played in the NBA with the Kings. Marvin Menzies succeeded him as head coach at New Mexico State. On December 15, 2008, Theus was fired by the Kings and the team announced that their assistant coach Kenny Natt would lead the team in the interim period. Theus was an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves under head coach Kurt Rambis from 2009 to 2011.[23]

Theus became the head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League in October 2012.[24][25]

Honors

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Acting and broadcasting career

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Theus hosted various talk shows in Sacramento, Orlando and Atlanta.

For several years Theus served as a studio analyst for Turner Sports and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Theus was one of the original panelists on The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

Theus portrayed a high school basketball coach named Bill Fuller in the TNBC Saturday morning sitcom Hang Time from 1995 to 1997.[28]

Theus did in-game color commentary and was the pre-game co-host for "SlamBall" for the 2002 season.

Theus provided the commentary for the video game NBA Live 2000

Theus made cameos in the films Book of Love, Forget Paris and Like Mike.[28]

Theus called Pac-12 basketball with Barry Tompkins on Fox Sports Net.

Personal life

[edit]

Theus is married to Elaine. They have three children: Raquel (Roqui for short); Reginald.; and Rhyan.

NBA career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1978–79 Chicago 82 – 33.6 .480 – .761 2.8 5.2 1.1 0.2 16.3
1979–80 Chicago 82 – 36.9 .483 .267 .838 4.0 6.3 1.4 0.2 20.2
1980–81 Chicago 82 – 34.4 .495 .200 .809 3.5 5.2 1.5 0.2 18.9
1981–82 Chicago 82 82 34.6 .469 .250 .808 3.8 5.8 1.1 0.2 18.4
1982–83 Chicago 82 81 34.8 .478 .231 .801 3.7 5.9 1.7 0.2 23.8
1983–84 Chicago 31 5 19.4 .388 .200 .778 1.5 4.6 0.7 0.1 8.7
1983–84 Kansas City 30 30 29.9 .438 .148 .751 2.8 7.0 1.0 0.3 15.8
1984–85 Kansas City 82 80 31.0 .487 .132 .863 3.3 8.0 1.2 0.2 16.4
1985–86 Sacramento 82 82 35.6 .480 .171 .827 3.7 9.6 1.4 0.2 18.3
1986–87 Sacramento 79 76 36.4 .472 .218 .867 3.4 8.8 1.0 0.2 20.3
1987–88 Sacramento 73 73 36.3 .470 .271 .831 3.2 6.3 0.8 0.2 21.6
1988–89 Atlanta 82 82 30.7 .466 .293 .851 3.0 4.7 1.3 0.2 15.8
1989–90 Orlando 76 71 30.9 .439 .248 .853 2.9 5.4 0.8 0.2 18.9
1990–91 New Jersey 81 81 36.5 .468 .361 .851 2.8 4.7 1.0 0.4 18.6
Career 1,026 743 33.7 .471 .252 .826 3.3 6.3 1.2 0.2 18.5
All-Star 2 1 13.5 .333 – – 1.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 4.0

Playoffs

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1981 Chicago 6 – 38.7 .444 .222 .860 3.5 6.3 1.5 0.0 19.8
1984 Kansas City 3 – 27.0 .395 .000 .900 3.7 5.3 1.7 0.0 14.3
1986 Sacramento 3 3 34.0 .391 .000 .750 2.7 6.3 1.0 0.7 15.0
1989 Atlanta 5 5 25.4 .368 .000 .750 1.4 4.8 0.2 0.0 7.4
Career 17 8 31.9 .410 .133 .831 2.8 5.7 1.1 0.1 14.4

Head coaching record

[edit]

College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
New Mexico State Aggies (Western Athletic Conference) (2005–2007)
2005–06 New Mexico State 16–14 10–6 T–4th
2006–07 New Mexico State 25–9 11–5 2nd NCAA Division I First round
New Mexico State: 41–23 (.641) 21–11 (.656)
Cal State Northridge Matadors (Big West Conference) (2013–2018)
2013–14 Cal State Northridge 17–18 7–9 5th
2014–15 Cal State Northridge 9–24 4–12 8th
2015–16 Cal State Northridge 10–20 5–11 T–6th
2016–17 Cal State Northridge 11–19 7–9 6th
2017–18 Cal State Northridge 6–24 3–13 9th
Cal State Northridge: 53–105 (.335) 26–54 (.325)
Bethune–Cookman Wildcats (SWAC) (2021–present)
2021–22 Bethune–Cookman 9–21 7–11 10th
2022–23 Bethune–Cookman 12–20 8–10 7th
2023–24 Bethune–Cookman 17–17 11–7 T–5th CBI First Round
Bethune-Cookman: 38–58 (.396) 26–28 (.481)
Total: 132–186 (.415)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NBA

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Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Sacramento 2007–08 82 38 44 .463 4th in Pacific — — — — Missed Playoffs
Sacramento 2008–09 24 6 18 .250 (fired) — — — — —
Career 106 44 62 .415 — — — —

D-League

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Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Los Angeles 2012–13 50 21 29 .420 3rd in West — — — — Missed Playoffs
Career 50 21 29 .420 — — — —

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Former NBA Star Reggie Theus Named B-CU's Athletic Director/Men's Head Basketball Coach" (Press release). Bethune–Cookman Wildcats. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  2. ^ "Reggie Theus - Men's Basketball Coach - Bethune-Cookman University Athletics". Bethune-Cookman Wildcats Athletics.
  3. ^ "Adande: Looks can be deceiving". ESPN.com. November 9, 2007.
  4. ^ "Inglewood High Retires Reggie Theus Jersey, Honors Former Sentinels Star". November 13, 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Reggie Theus College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ^ "UNLV's Athletic All-Time Hall Of Fame". University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Reggie Theus Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ a b Clark, Geoffrey (August 5, 2017). "Rush Street Reggie". Chicago Bulls Confidential.
  9. ^ "New York Knicks at Chicago Bulls Box Score, April 3, 1981". Basketball-Reference.com.
  10. ^ "1981 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals - Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics". Basketball-Reference.com.
  11. ^ "1982-83 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  12. ^ a b Cotton, Anthony. "Storm cloud over a sitting Bull". Vault.
  13. ^ "1983-84 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  14. ^ "1981-82 Chicago Bulls Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  15. ^ "Reggie Theus may be the only member of the..." UPI.
  16. ^ "1983-84 Kansas City Kings Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ "1986 NBA Western Conference First Round - Sacramento Kings vs. Houston Rockets". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "1988-89 Atlanta Hawks Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "1989-90 Orlando Magic Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  20. ^ "1990-91 New Jersey Nets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com.
  21. ^ Stewart, Mark (January 7, 2019). The Sacramento Kings. Norwood House Press. ISBN 9781599532851 – via Google Books.
  22. ^ Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (March 6, 2018). "Reggie Theus to exit as CSU Northridge coach, sources say". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  23. ^ Minnesota Timberwolves roster. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  24. ^ "Reggie Theus Named CSUN Men's Head Basketball Coach".
  25. ^ "Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League) hire Reggie Theus as head coach". www.insidehoops.com. October 15, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  26. ^ "Hall of Fame". University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics.
  27. ^ "Inglewood High retires Reggie Theus jersey, honors former Sentinels basketball star". November 12, 2014.
  28. ^ a b "Reggie Theus". IMDb.
[edit]
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