hanchiho
Bench
Theus is the ultimate gamble
He gave it the college try - will his fate differ from the others?
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 5:02 am PDT Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
He will have to answer for Mike Montgomery and dodge the reminder of Tim Floyd and swerve around the image of Leonard Hamilton and atone for Lon Kruger. So help us, Jerry Tarkanian.
It's not necessarily fair and it's not even accurate on some levels. But Reggie Theus going from the sidelines of New Mexico State to the sightlines of Sacramento makes him the latest college coach to try and jump Caesars Palace and make it to the NBA on the other side.
It is impossible and can't be done. That's the perception.
There's a trail of broken dreams among those who have previously moved from college to the NBA. That's the reality.
Today at the news conference to introduce him as the new coach of the Kings or once the season starts -- or both and many times along the way -- Theus will be asked about having to beat history and the Warriors. He is a polished speaker and has been pointing to this moment for years, so there will undoubtedly be some answer at the ready, but the actual response can only come over time.
Theus can say he never considered himself a college guy, so he is different than the others who famously failed in the same attempt. What is two seasons as The Guy at New Mexico State and two as an assistant at Louisville? It's barely enough time to learn the fight song.
Theus openly talked about envisioning himself on an NBA bench. Others obviously saw the same potential -- the Kings hired him at the most difficult moment for the franchise since the 1990s, and the Bobcats also interviewed him this offseason before choosing Sam Vincent.
So this is not the others in that regard. It's not even the others in the century. Tarkanian went over the falls in the most historic of cautionary tales, lasting 20 games with the Spurs before both sides realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but that was also 1992.
Tark's problem after a lifetime in the college game was strategy, what with the 20-second timeout, getting a handle on his rotation after having never coached NBA fourth quarters, and going from about 30 games a season in college to four a week in the pros. Others from the school ranks got high on the power of being able to rule the world, everything from setting the schedule to deciding who gets to speak publicly and when, then found it's the 20-year-old multimillionaire who likes to show who's in control.
Floyd was well respected as a basketball mind, got hired by the Bulls, clashed with players and the media, got another try with the Hornets and lasted one season. Now he's doing well again, back in college at USC, just as Kruger had nearly 2 1/2 seasons of failure with the Hawks and has recovered by building UNLV into a national name again.
Golden State players grew to openly disrespect Montgomery after his jump from Stanford. Michael Jordan's biggest mistake as personnel boss of the Wizards may have been hiring Hamilton from the University of Miami, not drafting Kwame Brown at No. 1 in 2001. There's a trend, not an isolated mishap.
Theus gets the next chance, though he will be succeeding or failing on his own, not because of 15 years ago in San Antonio. But the topic will come up at some point. That's the perception and the reality.
Reggie's numbers
As an NBA player in 1,026 games
Year Team Pts. Ast. Reb. 1978-79 Chicago 16.3 5.2 2.8
1979-80 Chicago 20.2 6.3 4.0
1980-81 Chicago 18.9 5.2 3.5
1981-82 Chicago 18.4 5.8 3.8
1982-83 Chicago 23.8 5.9 3.7
1983-84 Chi/K.C. 12.2 5.8 2.1
1984-85 Kansas City 16.4 8.0 3.3
1985-86 Sacramento 18.3 9.6 3.7
1986-87 Sacramento 20.3 8.8 3.4
1987-88 Sacramento 21.6 6.3 3.2
1988-89 Atlanta 15.8 4.7 3.0
1989-90 Orlando 18.9 5.4 2.9
1990-91 New Jersey 18.6 4.7 2.8
Totals 18.5 6.3 3.3
As a college coach
Year College Record
2005-06 New Mexico State 16-14
2006-07 New Mexico State 25-9
The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com
He gave it the college try - will his fate differ from the others?
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 5:02 am PDT Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
He will have to answer for Mike Montgomery and dodge the reminder of Tim Floyd and swerve around the image of Leonard Hamilton and atone for Lon Kruger. So help us, Jerry Tarkanian.
It's not necessarily fair and it's not even accurate on some levels. But Reggie Theus going from the sidelines of New Mexico State to the sightlines of Sacramento makes him the latest college coach to try and jump Caesars Palace and make it to the NBA on the other side.
It is impossible and can't be done. That's the perception.
There's a trail of broken dreams among those who have previously moved from college to the NBA. That's the reality.
Today at the news conference to introduce him as the new coach of the Kings or once the season starts -- or both and many times along the way -- Theus will be asked about having to beat history and the Warriors. He is a polished speaker and has been pointing to this moment for years, so there will undoubtedly be some answer at the ready, but the actual response can only come over time.
Theus can say he never considered himself a college guy, so he is different than the others who famously failed in the same attempt. What is two seasons as The Guy at New Mexico State and two as an assistant at Louisville? It's barely enough time to learn the fight song.
Theus openly talked about envisioning himself on an NBA bench. Others obviously saw the same potential -- the Kings hired him at the most difficult moment for the franchise since the 1990s, and the Bobcats also interviewed him this offseason before choosing Sam Vincent.
So this is not the others in that regard. It's not even the others in the century. Tarkanian went over the falls in the most historic of cautionary tales, lasting 20 games with the Spurs before both sides realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea, but that was also 1992.
Tark's problem after a lifetime in the college game was strategy, what with the 20-second timeout, getting a handle on his rotation after having never coached NBA fourth quarters, and going from about 30 games a season in college to four a week in the pros. Others from the school ranks got high on the power of being able to rule the world, everything from setting the schedule to deciding who gets to speak publicly and when, then found it's the 20-year-old multimillionaire who likes to show who's in control.
Floyd was well respected as a basketball mind, got hired by the Bulls, clashed with players and the media, got another try with the Hornets and lasted one season. Now he's doing well again, back in college at USC, just as Kruger had nearly 2 1/2 seasons of failure with the Hawks and has recovered by building UNLV into a national name again.
Golden State players grew to openly disrespect Montgomery after his jump from Stanford. Michael Jordan's biggest mistake as personnel boss of the Wizards may have been hiring Hamilton from the University of Miami, not drafting Kwame Brown at No. 1 in 2001. There's a trend, not an isolated mishap.
Theus gets the next chance, though he will be succeeding or failing on his own, not because of 15 years ago in San Antonio. But the topic will come up at some point. That's the perception and the reality.
Reggie's numbers
As an NBA player in 1,026 games
Year Team Pts. Ast. Reb. 1978-79 Chicago 16.3 5.2 2.8
1979-80 Chicago 20.2 6.3 4.0
1980-81 Chicago 18.9 5.2 3.5
1981-82 Chicago 18.4 5.8 3.8
1982-83 Chicago 23.8 5.9 3.7
1983-84 Chi/K.C. 12.2 5.8 2.1
1984-85 Kansas City 16.4 8.0 3.3
1985-86 Sacramento 18.3 9.6 3.7
1986-87 Sacramento 20.3 8.8 3.4
1987-88 Sacramento 21.6 6.3 3.2
1988-89 Atlanta 15.8 4.7 3.0
1989-90 Orlando 18.9 5.4 2.9
1990-91 New Jersey 18.6 4.7 2.8
Totals 18.5 6.3 3.3
As a college coach
Year College Record
2005-06 New Mexico State 16-14
2006-07 New Mexico State 25-9
The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com
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