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