LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- New Mexico State will start its
2005-2006 basketball schedule against the UCLA Bruins in Los
Angeles, marking the collegiate head coaching debut of the Aggies'
new coach, Reggie Theus.
The preseason game is set for Nov. 15 in Pauley Pavilion and
will be broadcast by ESPN, Theus and NMSU athletic director
McKinley Boston said Wednesday.
"I guess there's no better way to start is there?" Theus
joked. "I've never been afraid to take a shot, and this won't be
any different. I'm fired up... The winning and losing will take
care of itself in that game. I'm really looking forward to the
opportunity to see if we can get the program to the point where we
give ourselves a chance to win the game down the stretch."
Theus, a former NBA all-star and assistant coach at Louisville,
joined the Aggie coaching staff in late March.
The Aggies, who released part of their schedule for next season,
also will host coach Bobby Knight and Texas Tech in the coming
season.
The Aggies also are scheduled for their traditional
home-and-home series against the University of New Mexico and the
University of Texas-El Paso.
Theus, citing those early season games, said, "I don't think
you'll find anyone else with a tougher schedule than that ... and
anytime you have Bobby Knight coming into your place, that's a big
deal."
"For the program, when you play a team that was in the Sweet
16, that's really what its all about," Theus said. "That's where
we want to be."
For the future, Theus said, there have been preliminary
discussions with his alma mater, Nevada-Las Vegas, to renew a
rivalry of the early 1990s, beginning in the 2006-2007 season.
He said there have been talks with Louisville as well about the
possibility of playing an early season tournament game in 2006.
Boston, who is pushing for national exposure, said, "It's all
part of the branding of NMSU athletics."
The Aggies finished 6-24 this past season under interim head
coach Tony Stubblefield, who had just one win in the Sun Belt
Conference and one against a Division I team at home. Stubblefield
took over after longtime head coach Lou Henson contracted viral
encephalitis in September. Henson, 73, announced his retirement
Jan. 22.
"You have to get the wins, obviously, for the respect," Theus
said. "But if you want to be a top-level program, you have to play
schedules like this."