New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball

History

NMSU Basketball has seen much success throughout the years, reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1970, the Sweet Sixteen in 1992 among their 19 tournament appearances. Their two most successful coaches were Lou Henson and Neil McCarthy.

Jerry Hines era (1929–1940, '46)

Jerry Hines was one of the most exceptional Aggies. He was an outstanding two-sport athlete, the head basketball and head football coach, and the athletic director, each with success. During the later 1930s, the Aggie football team was 31–10–6 and the basketball team was 102–36 under Hines. The Aggie basketball team went to several postseason tournaments during this time, including the 1938 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, and the 1939 NIT tournament in New York City. The Hines era ended at the onset of World War II when he was called to duty in September 1940 as a member of a New Mexico National Guard unit assigned to the 45 Infantry Division. Hines did return for one more Aggie basketball season in 1946–47.

Lou Henson era (1966–1975)

Lou Henson played for the Aggies in the 1950s, coached at Las Cruces High School, and came from Hardin-Simmons University to become the head coach. His tenure was the most successful in Aggie history. His 1970 team reached the NCAA Tournament Final Four, losing to a John Wooden-coached and eventual champion, UCLA.

Henson led the Aggies to the NCAA tournament in six of his nine years. He left in 1975 for a successful 21-year run at Illinois.

Neil McCarthy (1985–1997)

Neil McCarthy came to Las Cruces in 1985 following a successful 10-year run at Weber State. He had built Weber State into a regional power, and was equally successful at New Mexico State. For most of McCarthy's tenure, the Aggies were the second-best team in the Big West, behind UNLV. After the Rebels hit the skids in the early 1990s, McCarthy led the Aggies to four straight regular season and tournament titles, including the 1992 Sweet Sixteen run.

However, the 1992 Sweet Sixteen run, along with two other NCAA runs in the early 1990s, was scrubbed from the books in 1996 when the NCAA found several players from that team received help on correspondence courses from a coach. Without those courses, the players would not have been eligible.

The McCarthy era came to a sudden and abrupt end just weeks before the 1997–98 season when new athletic director Jim Paul stripped him of coaching duties, citing the team's poor academic performance. Only nine of McCarthy's players had graduated in 12 years, including only one in the last four. McCarthy was originally supposed to serve as an assistant athletic director for the balance of his contract, but instead sued NMSU for wrongful termination—a move that would come back to haunt the school later.

Lou Henson's 2nd run (1997–2004)

Henson was lured from retirement to coach the team on an interim basis for the 1997-98 season after McCarthy's ouster. Henson wanted to donate his time, but state law forbade him from coaching the program for free. He ultimately settled for $1 per month. The following season Henson agreed to stay on as head coach on a permanent basis, leading the Aggies back to the NCAA Tournament in 1999.

In 2000, the Aggies were rocked again by a scandal from the McCarthy era. McCarthy had promised to hire a junior college coach as an assistant coach in return for bringing two of his top players to Las Cruces. That coach, in turn, helped the players with coursework and exams. The school placed the basketball program on two years' probation and withdrew from postseason consideration during the 2000–01 season. The NCAA imposed an additional four years' probation and forced the Aggies to vacate McCarthy's last season and the first season of Henson's second stint. The NCAA said that the penalties would have been even harsher if the school's former president, the former athletic director and McCarthy had still been at the school.

Henson continued to coach the Aggies until being sidelined by Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma prior to the 2004–05 season. Due to Henson's illness the Aggies were led that year by assistant coach Tony Stubblefield, who guided the squad to a dismal 6-24 record, by far the school's worst season in twenty years. Henson officially announced his retirement from coaching in January 2005, and Stubblefield remained interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Reggie Theus (2005–2007)

On March 31, 2005, NMSU hired 13-year NBA veteran Reggie Theus, then an assistant at Louisville under Rick Pitino, as head men's basketball coach. 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 as the Aggies moved from the Sun Belt Conference to the Western Athletic Conference. In Theus's second year the Aggies finished the regular season at 22–8, won the WAC Tournament on their home floor, and earn an automatic bid to the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Following the tournament Theus left NMSU to take over the head coaching position of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Marvin Menzies (2007-2016)

Marvin Menzies was named as Theus' successor, and like Theus before him, came to NMSU after having been an assistant to Pitino and had no previous Division I head coaching experience. In 2010 the Aggies again won the WAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament, falling 70-67 in the first round to eventual Final Four participant Michigan State. In 2012 the Aggies once again advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning the WAC Tournament for the third time in six seasons. They continued to appear in the NCAA tournament through 2015. After their 2016 NIT tournament appearance, Marvin Menzies was hired to take over the Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) basketball program.

Paul Weir (2016-Present)

Paul Weir enters his 10th season with the New Mexico State basketball program in 2016-17 and served in the role of associate head coach from July 2011 until he was promoted to head coach on April 26, 2016. He has helped the Aggies to five WAC Tournament Championships (2010, 2012-2015) and five subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances. The Aggies have collected three WAC Championships during Weir’s tenure. The Aggies have won back-to-back WAC regular season titles in 2015 and 2016 after collecting their first WAC regular season title in 2008. Overall, NM State has collected seven WAC titles during his nine years with the program.

Season results

* — Overall record includes tournament and postseason results; Regular–season conference record and place contained in parentheses.

NCAA Tournament results

The Aggies have appeared in 23 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 10–25.

From 2010–2015 the round of 64 was known as the second round

NAIA Tournament results

The Aggies have appeared in four NAIA Tournaments. Their combined record is 5–4.

NIT results

The Aggies have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times. Their combined record is 2–5.

Ring of Honor

New Mexico State's men's basketball Ring of Honor stands as a tribute to individual players and coaches that are distinguished as Aggie legends. A player's number is retired upon reaching this milestone. A banner designating this honor is hung from the rafters in the Pan American Center.

Lou Henson – began his coaching career with the Aggies in 1966, eventually coaching the Aggies to 289 victories over 17 years. Henson finished with 779 victories including his wins at Illinois. Henson coached the Aggies to the Final Four and two Sweet Sixteens among the 10 NCAA tournament appearances. His career Aggie record is 289–152, which is the winningest in Aggie history.

Sam Lacey (#44) – played for the Aggies from 1968 to 1970, including a trip to the Final Four. Lacey is 10th in Aggie all-time scoring and holds most rebounding records. He was a 1st Team All-American in 1970 and played in the NBA for 13 seasons, well enough to get his #44 jersey retired by the Sacramento Kings.

Billy Joe Price (#31) – played during the 1958–59 to 1959–60 seasons, including two trips to the NCAA Tournament. Price is 19th on the all-time scoring list and among the career leaders in rebounding.

Jimmy Collins (#22) – played for the Aggies from 1968 to 1970 and helped them to the Final Four in 1970. Collins holds the Aggie season scoring record and rank 3rd all-time in career scoring. Collins played in the NBA for several seasons.

John Williamson (#24) – is the most prolific scorer in Aggie history, averaging over 27 points per game during the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Williamson played for the New Jersey Nets and won two championships. His #23 jersey is retired by the New Jersey Nets.

Jerry Hines – was the Aggie basketball coach, as well as football coach, during the 1930s. The Aggies advanced to the NIT Tournament in 1938. His career record is 157–108, which is third winningest in Aggie history.

Aggies in the National Basketball Association

1000 Point Club

The 1000 Point Club consists of Aggies who have eclipsed 1000 points scored in their career. This is a notable accomplishment in college basketball. There are 34 Aggies that have reached this mark.

† = official records stricken ‡ = active player