We reported this earlier in the week as a rumor…it’s now official. Reggie Theus has been named as the head coach at Cal State Northridge. Here’s the official release:
A new era; a new enthusiasm; a new leader: Meet Reggie Theus. He has been named only the fifth men’s head basketball coach in the 55-year history of Cal State Northridge basketball by Dr. Brandon E. Martin, CSUN’s Director of Intercollegiate Athletics.
"We welcome Coach Theus to the CSUN family," said Dr. Martin. "We are excited to have him as the leader of our flagship program. His pedigree as an NBA player and coach, as well his ability to elevate a college program made him standout from a competitive pool of candidates."
"This is a game-changing hire for the CSUN basketball program. It speaks to our commitment to advancing our program to a national stage."
Theus has enjoyed an excellent career as an All-American college player at UNLV and an outstanding NBA career in addition to gaining valuable experience as a head coach and assistant coach on the collegiate level. In all, Theus has more than eleven years of coaching experience and played 13 seasons in the NBA. Theus was head coach of the Sacramento Kings for two seasons (2007-08, 2008-09). Theus served as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2009-11.
"I want to thank President Harrison (Dr. Dianne Harrison, CSUN President) and Dr. Martin (Dr. Brandon E. Martin, CSUN Director of Intercollegiate Athletics) for providing me with this great opportunity," said Theus. "I will succeed because I have great leadership from the top."
"I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to get back into college basketball," said Theus. "This is what I really want to do. To have an opportunity to coach in my hometown area is really a dream for me. This is what I really wanted."
"We will be in a process of building young men, and the well-being of the student-athlete is foremost. I take a lot of pride in mentoring young people. CSUN is a young team with a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to it. This is going to be a great challenge. This is a program that everybody in the near future is going to be proud of. I am excited for the players. I want our student body, the campus community, and the San Fernando community to be involved. If the team is willing to work, it’s going to happen."
Theus signed a multi-year contract with CSUN with a starting date of April 15, 2013.
Theus was the head coach at New Mexico State (2005-06, 2006-07), and was an assistant coach at the University of Louisville (2003-04, 2004-05) under head coach Rick Pitino. During the 2004-05 campaign, Louisville advanced to the NCAA Final Four with a 33-3 record. As an assistant coach at Louisville, Theus was named one of the Top 25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com. While at New Mexico State, Theus coached the Aggies to a 41-23 record, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2006-07 with a 25-9 record.
Since October, 2011, Theus has been head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League.
Theus is one of only a handful of players in NBA history to score at least 19,000 points and dish out 6,000 assists, joining such NBA Hall of Famers as Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, John Havlicek, John Stockton, Gary Payton and Clyde Drexler.
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