Reginald Wayne Theus (born October 13, 1957) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. He played 13 seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA), where he was a two-time NBA All-Star. He is currently the

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

head coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman. He was the head coach for the NBA's

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

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

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. Theus attended Inglewood High School in

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

. 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.

College career

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. 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 Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Despite losing by a single point to

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

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. 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.

Professional career

Chicago Bulls

After attending UNLV and having a successful college career, Theus was selected by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

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 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

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 The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

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. 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. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

, Theus appeared in his first

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

as the Bulls were 45–37 and made the 1981 NBA Playoffs. The Bulls won their first round series, defeating the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

2 games to 0, with Theus scoring 37 points with 11 assists in the 115–114 Bulls win in the final game. The Bulls faced the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

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. In 1982–1983, Theus averaged a career high 23.8 points per game as the Bulls leading scorer, but the Bulls finished 28–54. Newly hired Bulls coach

Kevin Loughery Kevin Michael "Murph" Loughery (born March 28, 1940) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Loughery coached both Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, and gave Phil Jackson his first NBA coaching job. Early life Loughe ...

decided to bench Theus for the first half of the 1983–1984 season. On February 14, 1984, Theus was traded to the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

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 Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

that off-season. The Bulls finished 27–55. 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

(1983–1984) . Theus averaged 18.8 points and 5.6 assists in 441 games in Chicago.

Kansas City/Sacramento Kings

Theus continued his impressive play with the

and Kansas City won 12 of their first 17 games after Theus joined the team. 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. In the 1984–85 season, the Kings moved to

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

. 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 Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon ( ; ; born January 21, 1963), nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian and American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played Center (basketball), center in the National Basketball Association (NB ...

and Ralph Sampson and the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

3–0 in the first round, as Theus averaged 15.0 points and 6.3 assists in the series. 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.

Later career

On June 27, 1988, Theus was traded by the Kings to the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

with a third round pick for Randy Wittman and a first round pick. He averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 assists for the Hawks in 1988–89, playing in the backcourt with

Doc Rivers Glenn Anton "Doc" Rivers (born October 13, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An NBA player for 14 seasons, he was an NB ...

and alongside Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins and Moses Malone. Theus helped the Hawks go 52–30 and advance to the playoffs. On June 15, 1989, the expansion Orlando Magic, picked him from the Hawks in the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

. The expansion Magic struggled, finishing 18–64. Theus averaged 18.9 points and 5.4 assists with the Magic. 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. 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 Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for Ranger Varese before retiring from basketball altogether in 1992. He also played along with Aris in the Greek Cup Final in 1993. 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.

Coaching career

College

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 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...

. On March 6, 2018, Cal State Northridge parted ways with Theus after a 44–107 record. On July 7, 2021, Theus was named head men's basketball coach and athletic director at Bethune–Cookman.

NBA

On June 19, 2007, Theus was hired by the Maloof brothers and guaranteed three years as head coach of the

. 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. Theus became the head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League in October 2012.

Honors

* 2 × NBA All-Star (, ) * NBA All-Rookie First Team () * In 1989 Theus was inducted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame. * No. 23 retired by UNLV in 1997. * In 2014, his Number 23 jersey was retired by Inglewood

Acting and broadcasting career

Theus hosted various talk shows in

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, Orlando and

. 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. 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 ''NBA Live 2000'' is the 2000 installment of the ''NBA Live'' video game series. The cover features Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs. The game was developed by EA Sports and released in 1999. Don Poier is the play-by-play announcer with Reggie ...

'' Theus made cameos in the films '' Book of Love'', '' Forget Paris'' and '' Like Mike''. Theus called Pac-12 basketball with Barry Tompkins on Fox Sports Net.

Personal life

Theus is married to Elaine. They have three children: Raquel (Roqui for short), Reginald, and Rhyan. Theus has a son, baseball player Brennen Davis, with Jakki Davis-Dollak, a long-jumper at the University of Washington. Davis says that Theus is "not a part of islife."

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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, 82 , , – , , 36.9 , , .483 , , .267 , , .838 , , 4.0 , , 6.3 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 20.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , – , , 34.4 , , .495 , , .200 , , .809 , , 3.5 , , 5.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 34.6 , , .469 , , .250 , , .808 , , 3.8 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 18.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 81 , , 34.8 , , .478 , , .231 , , .801 , , 3.7 , , 5.9 , , 1.7 , , 0.2 , , 23.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 5 , , 19.4 , , .388 , , .200 , , .778 , , 1.5 , , 4.6 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 8.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 30 , , 30 , , 29.9 , , .438 , , .148 , , .751 , , 2.8 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 82 , , 80 , , 31.0 , , .487 , , .132 , , .863 , , 3.3 , , 8.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 16.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 35.6 , , .480 , , .171 , , .827 , , 3.7 , , 9.6 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , 76 , , 36.4 , , .472 , , .218 , , .867 , , 3.4 , , 8.8 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 20.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 73 , , 73 , , 36.3 , , .470 , , .271 , , .831 , , 3.2 , , 6.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 82 , , 30.7 , , .466 , , .293 , , .851 , , 3.0 , , 4.7 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", Orlando , 76 , , 71 , , 30.9 , , .439 , , .248 , , .853 , , 2.9 , , 5.4 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 18.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, 81 , , 81 , , 36.5 , , .468 , , .361 , , .851 , , 2.8 , , 4.7 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 18.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1,026 , , 743 , , 33.7 , , .471 , , .252 , , .826 , , 3.3 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 18.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 1 , , 13.5 , , .333 , , – , , – , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.0

Playoffs

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, 6, , –, , 38.7, , .444, , .222, , .860, , 3.5, , 6.3, , 1.5, , 0.0, , 19.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1984 , style="text-align:left;", Kansas City , 3, , –, , 27.0, , .395, , .000, , .900, , 3.7, , 5.3, , 1.7, , 0.0, , 14.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1986 , style="text-align:left;",

, 3, , 3, , 34.0, , .391, , .000, , .750, , 2.7, , 6.3, , 1.0, , 0.7, , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

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, 5, , 5, , 25.4, , .368, , .000, , .750, , 1.4, , 4.8, , 0.2, , 0.0, , 7.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 8 , , 31.9 , , .410 , , .133 , , .831 , , 2.8 , , 5.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.1 , , 14.4

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 38, , 44, , .463, , style="text-align:center;", 4th in Pacific, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed Playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 24, , 6, , 18, , .250, , style="text-align:center;", (fired), , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , align="center" colspan="2", Career , 106, , 44, , 62, , .415, , , , —, , —, , —, , —

D-League

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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References

External links

Reggie Theus FoundationCal State Northridge bioNBA bioNew Mexico State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Theus, Reggie 1957 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen African-American basketball coaches American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in Italy Aris B.C. players Atlanta Hawks players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from California Basketball players from Inglewood, California Bethune–Cookman Wildcats athletic directors Bethune–Cookman Wildcats men's basketball coaches Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball coaches Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Inglewood High School (California) alumni Kansas City Kings players Los Angeles D-Fenders coaches Louisville Cardinals men's basketball coaches Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coaches NBA All-Stars NBA broadcasters New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball coaches New Jersey Nets players Orlando Magic expansion draft picks Orlando Magic players Pallacanestro Varese players Sacramento Kings head coaches Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball players

Early life

College career

Professional career

Chicago Bulls

Kansas City/Sacramento Kings

Later career

Coaching career

College

NBA

Honors

Acting and broadcasting career

Personal life

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Head coaching record

College

NBA

D-League

See also

References

External links