Theus to be Kings' head coach
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The CHANCE I am giving him is actually allowing him to coach a game for us before I deem him a failure. I admit that he was not my first choice, but the fact of the matter is, he is our new coach. I will hope for the best for him and wish him great success. He has just as good a shot at being successful as an of the other men available. Go Coach Theus and GO KINGS!
Here's how I see it:
Stan Van Gundy was the one guy on the list that, I think, most of us would have said, "Yeah, that makes sense." I'm not sure I would have started camping out to get a good spot for the championship parade on Capitol Mall, but he was a good, no-risk candidate that obviously didn't want to be here.
Beyond him, was there anyone that really turned your crank? Kurt Rambis? Scott Brooks? Terry Porter? Brian Shaw? All of them, no doubt, had strengths and weaknesses. But there isn't a guy on that list that you could say with any certainty: "He's the guy. He's our Pat Riley, our Phil Jackson, the guy who's going to turn us around."
Brown was intriguing, but there's a lot of baggage there, too, and probably a high price tag. I wonder whether Brown would have been similar to another older "name" coach who once worked for the Kings, Dick Motta. Remember Motta coming in after the Russell fiasco and saying he was a "plodder" who would build the Kings up, and then bitching because they couldn't shuffle players in and out fast enough? I'm pretty sure the Kings hit their low point in Sacto under Motta. Not saying that would have been the case under Brown, but I could see him making a lot of unreasonable demands after the first 6-game losing streak.
Look, I don't know if Reggie will be good, bad, or indifferent. I remember sort of liking him as a player but thinking he was a bit of a used car salesman off the court. I guess you have to be a bit slick to get kids to come to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Did the Vegas connection, looks, ethnicity, etc. give him an advantage? Possibly. But there's a resume there, I think, that makes him as qualified as Brooks, Rambis, et al.
I wish him good luck. More importantly, I wish the Kings more success. And now that the coaching situation is settled, I hope Petrie moves on to the more important issue of improving the roster. Because unless there are some upgrades and some changes in chemistry, it won't matter who's coaching and we'll probably be rounding up the usual coaching suspects (er, prospects) again next year.
Stan Van Gundy was the one guy on the list that, I think, most of us would have said, "Yeah, that makes sense." I'm not sure I would have started camping out to get a good spot for the championship parade on Capitol Mall, but he was a good, no-risk candidate that obviously didn't want to be here.
Beyond him, was there anyone that really turned your crank? Kurt Rambis? Scott Brooks? Terry Porter? Brian Shaw? All of them, no doubt, had strengths and weaknesses. But there isn't a guy on that list that you could say with any certainty: "He's the guy. He's our Pat Riley, our Phil Jackson, the guy who's going to turn us around."
Brown was intriguing, but there's a lot of baggage there, too, and probably a high price tag. I wonder whether Brown would have been similar to another older "name" coach who once worked for the Kings, Dick Motta. Remember Motta coming in after the Russell fiasco and saying he was a "plodder" who would build the Kings up, and then bitching because they couldn't shuffle players in and out fast enough? I'm pretty sure the Kings hit their low point in Sacto under Motta. Not saying that would have been the case under Brown, but I could see him making a lot of unreasonable demands after the first 6-game losing streak.
Look, I don't know if Reggie will be good, bad, or indifferent. I remember sort of liking him as a player but thinking he was a bit of a used car salesman off the court. I guess you have to be a bit slick to get kids to come to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Did the Vegas connection, looks, ethnicity, etc. give him an advantage? Possibly. But there's a resume there, I think, that makes him as qualified as Brooks, Rambis, et al.
I wish him good luck. More importantly, I wish the Kings more success. And now that the coaching situation is settled, I hope Petrie moves on to the more important issue of improving the roster. Because unless there are some upgrades and some changes in chemistry, it won't matter who's coaching and we'll probably be rounding up the usual coaching suspects (er, prospects) again next year.
from espn.com.....
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2909841
New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus is going home again -- back to the NBA and back to the Kings, but this time in Sacramento, not where he starred in Kansas City.
The Sacramento Kings will name Theus their next coach later Tuesday night. ESPN.com first reported the news and Theus confirmed it.
Theus wouldn't confirm the figures but ESPN.com has learned that he will get a three-year deal, worth an estimated $6 million.
Theus will replace Eric Musselman, who was fired after the Kings went 33-49 and missed the playoffs in his only season as coach.
"I'm stunned," Theus told ESPN.com. "As of Sunday, I believed I was the darkhorse."
Theus said he spoke with Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie early Tuesday evening and was told he had the job.
"I'm an NBA guy coaching in college," Theus said.
Sacramento first offered the job to Stan Van Gundy, but he went to Orlando once Billy Donovan asked out of his signed contract to return to the University of Florida.
Theus interviewed with the Kings twice and won the job over Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. The Kings also talked to another Lakers assistant, Kurt Rambis.
Theus led New Mexico State to the NCAA tournament after winning the WAC tournament in Las Cruces. The NCAA berth, which ended in a first-round loss to Texas, was the first for NMSU since 1999. Theus led NMSU to back-to-back winning seasons in his two seasons at the school. He coached them to a 25-9 record this past season. NMSU was 6-24 in the season before he arrived in 2005. Theus came to NMSU after a two-year stint as an assistant to Rick Pitino in Louisville.
Theus said that Pitino and his college coach, UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian, whom he played for from 1976-78, called Petrie on his behalf. He said he first met Petrie when the Kings were interested in drafting Louisville's Francisco Garcia after the Cardinals went to the Final Four in 2005.
"Coach Pitino and coach Tarkanian helped me because they know me as a person," Theus said. "I don't think anyone has looked at me as a college guy. People always looked at me as a pro guy. That's my pedigree. I spent 13 years as a player. I don't know why other college coaches haven't been successful. But most of the guys didn't play in the pros. I just know that I'm different. My credibility going in the door isn't as someone who hasn't played the game."
Theus got to know the Kings owners, the Maloof family, while at New Mexico State since the family is from New Mexico and supports the program. But Theus said as soon as he was told he was a possible candidate, he asked for 10 tapes of Kings' games from the NBA and started watching the team.
"I don't think it's going to be a quick fix," Theus said. "I do believe that we have to start out and create an identity. From the games I've seen, I couldn't figure out who they were as a team."
Theus said one of the first things he's going to do is meet with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby.
"I want to find out from them how we make this work since it's their team," Theus said. "I'm the leader but it's their team. I remember as a pro myself that I always liked it when the coach came to me to talk about how we can make it work.
"Both players are high-caliber players and at this point in their careers how much are they willing to sacrifice? But before that we have to start out with an identity and play a certain style to be successful," Theus said.
Theus had a contract on the table from NMSU that would have bumped his annual salary from $355,000 to $466,000, with a new five-year rollover.
Theus had been outspoken this spring about his desire to return to the NBA, where he was an All-Star. He played in the league for 13 seasons, mostly with Chicago and Kansas City, which became Sacramento in 1985. He also played for Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey before going to Europe in 1991.
Theus coached as a volunteer at Cal State-Los Angeles in the summer leagues for the Sixers and Nuggets, and then the ABA's Las Vegas Slam before Pitino hired him on a whim. Theus also worked in television as an actor.
But his dream was to get to the NBA as a coach, saying many times over the past month to ESPN.com that he was an "NBA guy" and could relate to a player as well as any other coach.
Theus said he would start calling recruits either late Tuesday night or Wednesday to let them know that he has left New Mexico State for the NBA. He said that includes highly-touted newcomer Herb Pope out of the Pittsburgh area.
Theus said he is indebted to Pitino and New Mexico State athletic director McKinley Boston.
"Dr. Boston knew this day would probably come but what it means is that this program is on solid ground," Theus said. "It's one of the top two or three mid-major programs in the country with our schedule, facilities and administration. I don't know who they will hire but maintaining continuity will be key with a veteran team."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2909841
New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus is going home again -- back to the NBA and back to the Kings, but this time in Sacramento, not where he starred in Kansas City.
The Sacramento Kings will name Theus their next coach later Tuesday night. ESPN.com first reported the news and Theus confirmed it.
Theus wouldn't confirm the figures but ESPN.com has learned that he will get a three-year deal, worth an estimated $6 million.
Theus will replace Eric Musselman, who was fired after the Kings went 33-49 and missed the playoffs in his only season as coach.
"I'm stunned," Theus told ESPN.com. "As of Sunday, I believed I was the darkhorse."
Theus said he spoke with Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie early Tuesday evening and was told he had the job.
"I'm an NBA guy coaching in college," Theus said.
Sacramento first offered the job to Stan Van Gundy, but he went to Orlando once Billy Donovan asked out of his signed contract to return to the University of Florida.
Theus interviewed with the Kings twice and won the job over Lakers assistant Brian Shaw. The Kings also talked to another Lakers assistant, Kurt Rambis.
Theus led New Mexico State to the NCAA tournament after winning the WAC tournament in Las Cruces. The NCAA berth, which ended in a first-round loss to Texas, was the first for NMSU since 1999. Theus led NMSU to back-to-back winning seasons in his two seasons at the school. He coached them to a 25-9 record this past season. NMSU was 6-24 in the season before he arrived in 2005. Theus came to NMSU after a two-year stint as an assistant to Rick Pitino in Louisville.
Theus said that Pitino and his college coach, UNLV's Jerry Tarkanian, whom he played for from 1976-78, called Petrie on his behalf. He said he first met Petrie when the Kings were interested in drafting Louisville's Francisco Garcia after the Cardinals went to the Final Four in 2005.
"Coach Pitino and coach Tarkanian helped me because they know me as a person," Theus said. "I don't think anyone has looked at me as a college guy. People always looked at me as a pro guy. That's my pedigree. I spent 13 years as a player. I don't know why other college coaches haven't been successful. But most of the guys didn't play in the pros. I just know that I'm different. My credibility going in the door isn't as someone who hasn't played the game."
Theus got to know the Kings owners, the Maloof family, while at New Mexico State since the family is from New Mexico and supports the program. But Theus said as soon as he was told he was a possible candidate, he asked for 10 tapes of Kings' games from the NBA and started watching the team.
"I don't think it's going to be a quick fix," Theus said. "I do believe that we have to start out and create an identity. From the games I've seen, I couldn't figure out who they were as a team."
Theus said one of the first things he's going to do is meet with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby.
"I want to find out from them how we make this work since it's their team," Theus said. "I'm the leader but it's their team. I remember as a pro myself that I always liked it when the coach came to me to talk about how we can make it work.
"Both players are high-caliber players and at this point in their careers how much are they willing to sacrifice? But before that we have to start out with an identity and play a certain style to be successful," Theus said.
Theus had a contract on the table from NMSU that would have bumped his annual salary from $355,000 to $466,000, with a new five-year rollover.
Theus had been outspoken this spring about his desire to return to the NBA, where he was an All-Star. He played in the league for 13 seasons, mostly with Chicago and Kansas City, which became Sacramento in 1985. He also played for Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey before going to Europe in 1991.
Theus coached as a volunteer at Cal State-Los Angeles in the summer leagues for the Sixers and Nuggets, and then the ABA's Las Vegas Slam before Pitino hired him on a whim. Theus also worked in television as an actor.
But his dream was to get to the NBA as a coach, saying many times over the past month to ESPN.com that he was an "NBA guy" and could relate to a player as well as any other coach.
Theus said he would start calling recruits either late Tuesday night or Wednesday to let them know that he has left New Mexico State for the NBA. He said that includes highly-touted newcomer Herb Pope out of the Pittsburgh area.
Theus said he is indebted to Pitino and New Mexico State athletic director McKinley Boston.
"Dr. Boston knew this day would probably come but what it means is that this program is on solid ground," Theus said. "It's one of the top two or three mid-major programs in the country with our schedule, facilities and administration. I don't know who they will hire but maintaining continuity will be key with a veteran team."
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
Again, if there is any hope, its in a) him once being a player; and b) maybe some leadership qualities.
Unfortunately Reggie was a selfish player that never achieved anything (teamwise), and I think he's not going to carry the same legitimacy a guy who has won titles might. He's also of course never coupled that wiht any NBA coaching experience at all. And maybe that was jsut ego, who knows.
And the leadership...I ma just kiund of hoping/speculating there. There may be a hint of steel in reggie...maybe? Or maybe just around kids. Not sure. Am quite sure he has an oversized personality and ego, now its just a question of whether that allows he to talk to NBA players on equal footing, or it causes them to tune him out. If he can have a sense of humor about his celebrity etc. it might help to disarm the impression of hubris.
Sigh. This is such a Maloof hire. Reggie is like everything they in their most juvenile dreams wish that they could be if they were coaches.
Unfortunately Reggie was a selfish player that never achieved anything (teamwise), and I think he's not going to carry the same legitimacy a guy who has won titles might. He's also of course never coupled that wiht any NBA coaching experience at all. And maybe that was jsut ego, who knows.
And the leadership...I ma just kiund of hoping/speculating there. There may be a hint of steel in reggie...maybe? Or maybe just around kids. Not sure. Am quite sure he has an oversized personality and ego, now its just a question of whether that allows he to talk to NBA players on equal footing, or it causes them to tune him out. If he can have a sense of humor about his celebrity etc. it might help to disarm the impression of hubris.
Sigh. This is such a Maloof hire. Reggie is like everything they in their most juvenile dreams wish that they could be if they were coaches.
I agree with your mentality but you have to understand there is no expectations put on Theus as a coach the Maloofs are thinking the worse case scenario for next year. you only give a chance to a coach who might make a bad team into a good team. Theus has the potential to make us worser team next year then we experienced this year.
catch me now?
catch me now?
Just because there wasn't a future Pat Riley in the bunch doesn't mean we should pick the least qualified guy for the job. For the record I liked Brian Shaw an awful lot and I think he has a very bright future in this league as a future head coach, he has all you want from a candidate that has yet to be an NBA head coach and he's from Norcal too if you need a connection with the area. He would have easily accepted the job IMO, he was the perfect candidate. He would get respect from his players and he'd be fine with a rebuilding effort.
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I'm not very happy with this choice and feel disappointed, but that's all I'm going to say about it. What's done is done. As always, I'll give Theus the same chance I give every one who comes to the Kings and hopefully, I'll get a chance to be pleasantly surprised. It would seem to indicate full rebuld mode, tho. I really hope so.
Welcome back to Sacramento, Coach Theus.
Welcome back to Sacramento, Coach Theus.
It's not about giving Reggie a fair chance. He'll get it. It's about how it appears to be a dumb choice. By me...and I would venture to say by many others. No NBA coaching experience. Better prospects available. I'm not upset because it's Reggie. I like the guy. I'm upset because there seem to be so many more qualified and viable candidates. I just don't get it. I'm disappointed in this decision and it seems like a bush league hire. Yeah I'm upset. I'll get over it. He'll get his fair chance, but I reserve my right to say "I told you so".
I understand what you are saying, I just disagree. For one, we do not know which players are still going to be hear when the season starts. Another possiblity is that he will be able to get Ron and Mike (provided they are still here) to actually play together. If nothing else, I think the players will respect him ore than than they ever did Muss. There is also a strong possibilty the he will help develop the younger guys more than Muss did since he is coming straight from the college sidelines. He may be able to relate to them better. I just think that he will do better than Muss. Much better.
N
But that's my whole point, Vlade4GM. YOU like Brian Shaw. Someone else on this board preferred Rambis. Someone else wanted Porter. I'm admitting ignorance up front; I didn't sit in on the interviews, didn't talk to references, etc. I don't KNOW that Theus is better than Shaw. Maybe it's strike two for Petrie and the Maloofs. Maybe it's a home run. I don't know. But to say that you can look at the resumes of the known candidates (Brown and VG excluded) and say with certainty one's better than another ... I'm skeptical. I'm just willing to give the guy a chance, that's all. And why wouldn't Reggie get respect from his players? I think he's much better known as an NBA guy than as a college guy.
So you think he can work well even though hes gonna have young players on his roster?
I would love to hear what the King players think about this hiring i bet there not all that excited.
does the guy even have any experience in coaching? his only experience is a small program in New Mexico. this guy is not gonna coach next year and make our jaws drop thats not happening. this hiring was a lateral move.
basically with this hiring the Kings are telling the fans to have a low low expectation.
I would love to hear what the King players think about this hiring i bet there not all that excited.
does the guy even have any experience in coaching? his only experience is a small program in New Mexico. this guy is not gonna coach next year and make our jaws drop thats not happening. this hiring was a lateral move.
basically with this hiring the Kings are telling the fans to have a low low expectation.
S
look im down with this as long as Petrie was down with this...... Lookin at what they had to work wit it appears that they saw SVG and Brown as the 1 and 2. and everyone else was in the same boat. If he went in there and knew his stuff and was able to win over Petrie than good for him.
but if this is the maloofs going over Petrie's head again. than screw these guys. im sure more will come out on this as time goes by so we will see.
but if this is the maloofs going over Petrie's head again. than screw these guys. im sure more will come out on this as time goes by so we will see.
It's not like I'm not going to give the dude a chance, of course I am and it's not like I really have a choice about it either. Frankly, I'm not big on the idea that the head coach being the end all be all of the team's success but it's still crucial we have a good coach even if we're not going to be that competitive next year because we still need to make progress towards the future.
I still would have preferred Rambis or Porter greatly to Theus. Shaw was just my favorite, but Porter and Rambis still have a lot more going for them than Theus. Only reason Theus was even seriously considered IMO was because he's an ex-king. Of course we don't KNOW for a fact that one guy is better than the other, still doesn't mean we can't have a pretty good idea based on evidence and facts.
I still would have preferred Rambis or Porter greatly to Theus. Shaw was just my favorite, but Porter and Rambis still have a lot more going for them than Theus. Only reason Theus was even seriously considered IMO was because he's an ex-king. Of course we don't KNOW for a fact that one guy is better than the other, still doesn't mean we can't have a pretty good idea based on evidence and facts.