http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/237833.html
More than a pretty face
Before fans judge the hiring of Reggie Theus as Kings coach, it might be prudent to remember that as a player he was more than a pretty face
By Scott Howard-Cooper -
Last Updated 12:16 am PDT Saturday, June 23, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
The first time, Reggie Theus came with the rest of the Kings, as part of the franchise move from Kansas City in the summer of 1985.
He was a Sacramento original. The mustache and the hair coiffed just so. The Cosmopolitan magazine ranking that offseason as one of the country's most eligible bachelors prompted women to send pictures and letters by the bagful to the team offices. He arrived with the reputation as a man who liked the night life. "Rush Street Reggie," they called him in Chicago in a nod to that city's popular boulevard of clubs.
"He had a flamboyant side," said Larry Drew, a Kings teammate who has remained in contact. "He had that type of charisma."
The Reggie Theus who played three seasons in Sacramento had a lot of things. For sure fans. A very good locker room environment -- maybe the best ever here -- with the likes of Mike Woodson, Drew, Joe Kleine, LaSalle Thompson, Eddie Johnson and, as an assistant and head coach, Jerry Reynolds, guys who would still be in contact more than 20 years later. And game.
Theus definitely had game. He was as dynamic on the court as he was off, a 6-foot-7 guard who could handle the ball, score and never shot worse than 47 percent during his time in Sacramento.
It was that way his entire 13-year NBA career, to be followed by a season in Italy. From being the ninth overall pick by the Bulls in 1978 and an All-Rookie choice to being waived by the New Jersey Nets in the summer of '91, Theus played with durability and excitement while averaging 18.5 points and 6.3 assists for five franchises. He twice represented Chicago in the All-Star Game.
"Reggie's always been a guy in the league where his basketball abilities were overlooked because of his model looks," said Johnson, now an analyst for Phoenix Suns TV broadcasts. "People try to put labels on you. With him, it was 'pretty boy.' But he was one of the best competitors I ever played with."
Theus had spent 5 1/2 seasons with the Bulls and 1 1/2 with Kansas City by the time he reached Sacramento in 1985 with the rest of the relocating Kings. It became the only place he averaged 20 points in consecutive seasons.
"It was his play," Johnson said. "It was the way he communicated. ... He had it figured out long before I did. Long before a lot of guys did."
Not that the relationship was always perfect -- when a reporter asked him about being back in California (he grew up in Inglewood), Theus observed that Sacramento wasn't California. Striking at the heart of the inferiority complex didn't stop him from becoming popular, although it was tough for a King to be unpopular then, and Theus did help them to the playoffs that first season while averaging 18.3 points.
"He never was really take-charge verbally," said Drew, now an assistant to Woodson with the Atlanta Hawks. "I thought he was more about actions. If there was a time during games when we needed to make a push, he always did it by example."
Johnson, "Woody," Drew, Otis Thorpe, "Tank" Thompson, Theus, rookie Kleine and coach Phil Johnson were at the forefront of settling the new territory, and immediately reaching the postseason was proof of what could be. It was a 3-0 first-round loss to the Houston Rockets, but a new arena was on the way to replace Arco I and its capacity of 10,333 seats. The future had hope.
And then it didn't. The 1986-87 edition went 29-53, and Johnson was fired as coach. Reynolds finished the season as the interim No. 1, and Bill Russell was hired nine days into the offseason, a move the organization would come to regret. But Theus averaged a team-best 20.3 points.
The third season in Northern California was even worse, with a 24-58 mark and Russell being booted upstairs March 7, 1988. Reynolds was named coach again. Theus averaged 21.6 points this time, the second-highest output of his career.
"I think some players were jealous of Reggie, which could be expected," Reynolds says now, as the Kings' director of player personnel.
"He was a better player than about all of them, made more money and was better looking, and some guys couldn't handle it. But I don't know anybody who didn't like him."
Still, the Kings were going nowhere fast. The move for a new direction came June 28, 1988, draft day: Theus and a third-round pick to the Hawks for Atlanta's first-round selection and Randy Wittman.
Theus finished his career with single-season stops in Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey. He got into broadcasting with Turner Sports and acting and, eventually, coaching, so deep into it in the summer of 2007 that he would be carried back to the 1980s.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@ sacbee.com.
More than a pretty face
Before fans judge the hiring of Reggie Theus as Kings coach, it might be prudent to remember that as a player he was more than a pretty face
By Scott Howard-Cooper -
Last Updated 12:16 am PDT Saturday, June 23, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
The first time, Reggie Theus came with the rest of the Kings, as part of the franchise move from Kansas City in the summer of 1985.
He was a Sacramento original. The mustache and the hair coiffed just so. The Cosmopolitan magazine ranking that offseason as one of the country's most eligible bachelors prompted women to send pictures and letters by the bagful to the team offices. He arrived with the reputation as a man who liked the night life. "Rush Street Reggie," they called him in Chicago in a nod to that city's popular boulevard of clubs.
"He had a flamboyant side," said Larry Drew, a Kings teammate who has remained in contact. "He had that type of charisma."
The Reggie Theus who played three seasons in Sacramento had a lot of things. For sure fans. A very good locker room environment -- maybe the best ever here -- with the likes of Mike Woodson, Drew, Joe Kleine, LaSalle Thompson, Eddie Johnson and, as an assistant and head coach, Jerry Reynolds, guys who would still be in contact more than 20 years later. And game.
Theus definitely had game. He was as dynamic on the court as he was off, a 6-foot-7 guard who could handle the ball, score and never shot worse than 47 percent during his time in Sacramento.
It was that way his entire 13-year NBA career, to be followed by a season in Italy. From being the ninth overall pick by the Bulls in 1978 and an All-Rookie choice to being waived by the New Jersey Nets in the summer of '91, Theus played with durability and excitement while averaging 18.5 points and 6.3 assists for five franchises. He twice represented Chicago in the All-Star Game.
"Reggie's always been a guy in the league where his basketball abilities were overlooked because of his model looks," said Johnson, now an analyst for Phoenix Suns TV broadcasts. "People try to put labels on you. With him, it was 'pretty boy.' But he was one of the best competitors I ever played with."
Theus had spent 5 1/2 seasons with the Bulls and 1 1/2 with Kansas City by the time he reached Sacramento in 1985 with the rest of the relocating Kings. It became the only place he averaged 20 points in consecutive seasons.
"It was his play," Johnson said. "It was the way he communicated. ... He had it figured out long before I did. Long before a lot of guys did."
Not that the relationship was always perfect -- when a reporter asked him about being back in California (he grew up in Inglewood), Theus observed that Sacramento wasn't California. Striking at the heart of the inferiority complex didn't stop him from becoming popular, although it was tough for a King to be unpopular then, and Theus did help them to the playoffs that first season while averaging 18.3 points.
"He never was really take-charge verbally," said Drew, now an assistant to Woodson with the Atlanta Hawks. "I thought he was more about actions. If there was a time during games when we needed to make a push, he always did it by example."
Johnson, "Woody," Drew, Otis Thorpe, "Tank" Thompson, Theus, rookie Kleine and coach Phil Johnson were at the forefront of settling the new territory, and immediately reaching the postseason was proof of what could be. It was a 3-0 first-round loss to the Houston Rockets, but a new arena was on the way to replace Arco I and its capacity of 10,333 seats. The future had hope.
And then it didn't. The 1986-87 edition went 29-53, and Johnson was fired as coach. Reynolds finished the season as the interim No. 1, and Bill Russell was hired nine days into the offseason, a move the organization would come to regret. But Theus averaged a team-best 20.3 points.
The third season in Northern California was even worse, with a 24-58 mark and Russell being booted upstairs March 7, 1988. Reynolds was named coach again. Theus averaged 21.6 points this time, the second-highest output of his career.
"I think some players were jealous of Reggie, which could be expected," Reynolds says now, as the Kings' director of player personnel.
"He was a better player than about all of them, made more money and was better looking, and some guys couldn't handle it. But I don't know anybody who didn't like him."
Still, the Kings were going nowhere fast. The move for a new direction came June 28, 1988, draft day: Theus and a third-round pick to the Hawks for Atlanta's first-round selection and Randy Wittman.
Theus finished his career with single-season stops in Atlanta, Orlando and New Jersey. He got into broadcasting with Turner Sports and acting and, eventually, coaching, so deep into it in the summer of 2007 that he would be carried back to the 1980s.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@ sacbee.com.