Former Aggie Head Coach/New Sacramento Kings Head Coach, Reggie Theus, to Host the Dallas Mavericks at the Pan American Center on Tuesday, October 16

Reggie Theus’ fans will have one more chance to see the former head Aggie basketball coach in action in Las Cruces as the Sacramento Kings face the Dallas Mavericks in a Tuesday, Oct. 16 preseason home contest at the Pan American Center located on the corner of University Ave. and Payne St.

The game will signify a homecoming for new Kings Head Coach Reggie Theus and Assistant Coach Randy Brown. Theus, a two-time All-Star who played 13 years in the NBA and was a member of the 1985 inaugural Sacramento Kings, is fresh off the heels of leading New Mexico State to a berth in the NCAA Tournament (a first for the school since 1999).  

Theus coached the Aggies for two seasons, compiling a 41-23 record.  In his first year at the helm of the NMSU program, Theus guided the Aggies to a tie for the fifth-best turnaround in all of Division I basketball and the best single-season improvement of any NMSU squad since the 1985-86 season.

“It’s an honor to go back to New Mexico State and a program I will always consider myself a part of,” said Theus. “It’ll be great to see all the Panamaniacs and Reggie Nation one last time and have the opportunity to address my former players. It will definitely feel like I am coming home. I have much love and respect for the school, players, administration, Dr. Martin and Dr. Boston, the Board of Regents and the community. The best thing about Las Cruces is that the community and the administration are one big family.  Everyone is pulling for the right thing.”

Brown, a three-time NBA Champion with the Chicago Bulls and 12-year NBA veteran, enjoyed a two-year career at New Mexico State. He played four years (1991-95) for the Kings after being drafted by Sacramento in the second round (31st overall) of the 1991 NBA Draft and spent five seasons (1995-00) in Chicago, leading the Bulls in assists during the 1999-00 campaign. Brown also was a member of the Kings the last time the team played a preseason game at New Mexico State in 1993.

“I’m very pleased that the Maloof brothers and Coach Theus have decided to play a preseason game at NMSU this fall,” said Dr. McKinley Boston, NMSU Athletic Director.  “It is a great opportunity for our fans, especially the ‘Panamaniacs,’ to rally in support of the work that Coach Theus did in turning around our basketball program and laying the foundation for us to build upon.  It is also another wonderful development and branding opportunity for our Department and we look forward to working with the Kings in making this a very successful event for the Kings, NMSU and our community.”

The Kings will feature NBA veterans such as Mike Bibby, Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Kevin Martin, as well as first round draft pick (10th overall) Spencer Hawes. The Mavericks, holding the best regular season record in the NBA during the 2006-07 season, will showcase forward Dirk Nowitzki, who claimed the NBA’s MVP award last season, as well as Josh Howard, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse.

Tickets are priced from $15 to $75 and may be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com. Tickets also may be purchased by calling the Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone at (915) 544-8444 or (505) 532-2060 or visiting the Pan Am Center Ticket Office or any Ticketmaster Outlet.

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