Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 3231
NBA All-Star and NCAA All-American Reggie Theus enters his fifth season as the head coach of the CSUN Men’s Basketball team in 2017-18.
Last season, he coached the Matadors to the Big West Conference Tournament and to its most road conference wins in six seasons. CSUN also earned season sweeps of Long Beach State, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara as well as its first road win at Long Beach State since 2008. Following the regular season, junior guard Kendall Smith earned All-Big West Second Team and junior forward Tavrion Dawson earned a Big West Honorable Mention.
Theus led the Matadors to the Big West Tournament final in 2013-14, leading the same group that hadn't played in the postseason since 2011. In his first year with the Matadors, the team won its most games (17) since the 2008-09 season.
Under his leadership, five CSUN players have received All-Conference honors, among many other awards, and numerous student-athletes have set all-time CSUN records and moved into the Big West Conference’s all-time top 10 lists. At CSUN, he has coached two Academic All-Americans, several of his student-athletes have been honored at the Varsity N Scholar-Athlete Recognition Ceremony and 100 percent of his seniors have graduated.
As a player, Theus was an All-American at UNLV, spent 13 seasons in the NBA and was a two-time All Star. He is one of only nine players in NBA history – fourth upon his retirement in 1991 - to score at least 19,000 points and dish out 6,000 assists and upon his retirement, he ranked 21st all-time in points scored and 10th all-time in assists.
Theus also has more than 12 years of collegiate and professional coaching experience. He currently ranks 26th on UNLV’s all-time scoring list and had his jersey retired by the Rebels in 1997 after being inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989.
Theus was the ninth overall pick of the Chicago Bulls after his junior season and in his first year, was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie Team and was runner up for Rookie of the Year. Theus spent five and a half seasons with the Bulls and still ranks on many of the Bulls’ all-time top 10 lists. He is eighth all-time in points scored, seventh all-time in free throws made and fifth in assists. Theus went on to play for the Kings, Hawks, Magic and Nets, and after four and a half seasons with the Kings, he ranks fifth all-time in assists and is among the top five in many Sacramento-era categories.
As a tribute to his impact on the game of basketball, the Sacramento Kings honored Theus as one of their “Original 1985 Legends” to mark the team’s 30th Anniversary in Sacramento and honored him in ceramic with a bobblehead during the 2015-16 season, the team's final in Sleep Train Arena.
Before coming to CSUN, Theus spent one season as the Head Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders. Prior to that, Theus spent time as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-11), the head coach of the Sacramento Kings (2007-09), the head coach at New Mexico State (2006-07) and an assistant coach at the University of Louisville (2003-05).
He led New Mexico State to the NCAA Tournament in 2006-07 with a 25-9 record, and while with Louisville, he was named one of the Top 25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com and the team advanced to the NCAA Final Four after going 33-3.
Theus is originally from Los Angeles, CA and his No. 24 jersey was retired at Inglewood High School on November 12, 2014 on what has been official declared “Reggie Theus Day” by Inglewood Unified State Trustee Dr. Don Brann.
After retiring as a player, Theus starred for three seasons on the network television sitcom “Hang Time” and served as a broadcaster for ESPN and TNT and an analyst, panelist and host on numerous sports talk shows, including “Inside the NBA” and “Best Damn Sports Show Period” on Fox Sports. For the past three winters, he was an NCAA Tournament Analyst on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles.
Theus completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration from California Coast University in 2002, and also has a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Central Michigan University. Theus is an avid outdoorsman with a passion for archery. He and his wife Elaine have three children, Raquel, Reggie - who plays for the Matadors - and Rhyan, and reside in Los Angeles.
