Mary Henson knew she probably would never persuade her husband, Lou, to retire from coaching. His first “retirement” from Illinois lasted all of 18 months.
When Henson’s alma mater, New Mexico State, called shortly before the start of last season, he jumped at a chance to return to the game.
But as Henson prepared for his 36th season on the sideline last autumn, Mary took him aside one day and said, “You aren’t the young man you used to be. I want you to promise me that you’re going to come home for lunch and rest every day.”
Henson solemnly promised to do so. Mary Henson chuckled as she recounted the conversation. “He hasn’t done it once,” she said this week from Las Cruces. “Not once. He has come home for lunch, but he hasn’t rested. Not even for 15 minutes. He just can’t get away from it.”
Hey, the guy’s got work to do. With the help of five transfers from the defunct Northeastern Illinois program, Henson has led the Aggies to a 7-1 record in the Big West (15-5 overall) and first place in the Eastern Division.
Henson, 67, has revived the program he led to the Final Four in 1970. But he also has revived himself. Henson needs only four victories to become the 13th coach in Division I history to win 700 games. He’s 696-348 (.667) lifetime.
“I was with him when I was in my mid-30s and he constantly amazed me with his energy level,” said UIC assistant coach Mark Coomes, Henson’s nephew. “He takes care of himself. He loves basketball and that’s the bottom line.”
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Henson was the world’s worst retiree. He took up golf but found he’d rather watch hoops on TV. And he’d rather coach hoops than watch it, although he still catches two or three games almost every night when he gets home from work.
“We have four TVs and three VCRs,” Henson said. “Some people want to get away from it. I guess it’s my hobby.”
Henson likes to tune in Big Ten games. But if Henson takes any satisfaction in Illinois’ struggles this season, he keeps it to himself. His former Illinois assistant, UIC coach Jimmy Collins, is amused at the notion that Henson’s old-fashioned approach to the game–he stresses defense and fundamentals–had gone out of style.
“Or so some people said,” Collins said. “Lou’s a student of the game. Basketball has been his life. The game never passes you by.”
Indeed, Henson stayed a step ahead of his Big West rivals when he signed the five Northeastern Illinois castoffs, who came to Las Cruces along with former NEIU assistant coach Tom Trotter.
Through 20 games, the five transfers had accounted for 47 percent of New Mexico State’s scoring and 63 percent of its assists. Junior point guard Billy “The Kid” Keys leads the team with 4.8 assists per game and is second in scoring with 12.1 points per game.
The transfers provided an influx of talent. But Henson supplied the work, pushing the newcomers to buy into his defense-first system. The Aggies are limiting Big West rivals to 61.9 points and 40 percent shooting from the floor, both best in the conference.
Henson wouldn’t begin to compare New Mexico State to his better Illinois teams.
“We’ve got three or four guys who have trouble making layups,” Henson said. “We don’t shoot the ball very well (46.2 percent from the floor, 40.2 percent from beyond the three-point arc). We’re just scratching and clawing offensively to try to win games.
“We’re not very big, and we’re new. We’re winning with defense. We have good people and they want to win.
“It’s a lot of hard work, but I’m enjoying coaching them because we’re making progress. A coach feels he’s doing his job if his players are improving.”
And it’s more enjoyable if they’re winning. The Aggies have a shot at returning to the NCAA tournament for the first time in five years. And they return four starters next year.
There’s speculation Henson will name his own successor before his four-year deal is completed, but Mary Henson is skeptical.
“Is he ever going to retire?” she said. “Really retire? Probably not.”
Sauer grapes: Top-ranked Connecticut’s loss to Syracuse Monday night removed whatever luster remained for the Huskies’ visit to No. 4 Stanford Saturday. The Cardinal last week suffered its first Pac-10 lost, to Arizona in Tucson. No disgrace there.
“In the greater picture, losing at Arizona is not that big of a thing,” Cardinal forward Peter Sauer said from Palo Alto this week.
With a game against Bay Area rival California Wednesday night, Stanford didn’t want to be caught looking ahead to the weekend. But the players know that Connecticut game is drawing unusually heavy national attention.
“On a national level, people are going to look at that game and say `That’s huge,’ and that’s a measure of some things nationally,” Sauer said.
Both teams entered the season with dreams of finishing it in St. Petersburg, Fla. But Sauer doesn’t buy the notion that Stanford’s season will be a disappointment if it doesn’t make the Final Four after returning all five starters from last year’s national semifinals team.
“I don’t think you can measure a baseline for success as going to the Final Four,” Sauer said. “It’s not as if we’re saying, `Final Four or bust.’ There are a lot of great programs that haven’t been to the Final Four.”
Including Connecticut.
Meanwhile, in Storrs: Even with a healthy lineup, UConn had to survive recent upset bids by Big East rivals Miami, St. John’s and Georgetown.
But the loss of Richard Hamilton and Jake Voskuhl doomed UConn against Syracuse. The Huskies looked less than ordinary without Hamilton, a national Player of the Year candidate, and Voskuhl, their glass-eating center.
Hamilton’s value was underscored when the other Huskies seemed wary of shooting as the Syracuse game slipped away; UConn put up 42 points, its lowest total since 1982.
“When (Hamilton is) out of the game, they have no one to hit that big shot,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said.
Hamilton, who has a thigh bruise, likely will return for the Stanford game. But Voskuhl has a stress fracture in his left foot and it’s possible he won’t return until the postseason, if then.
UConn coach Jim Calhoun has caught some bad breaks in his so-far futile pursuit of a Final Four berth. It would be ironic if an actual broken bone kept him out this year.
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But Calhoun refused to use the injuries as an alibi for the Huskies’ first loss, and he blasted the players who failed to take up the slack for Hamilton and Voskuhl.
“You can actually go after a loose ball, whether you’re Richard Hamilton or Jake Voskuhl or anybody else,” Calhoun said. “We had some guys out there I think can play, and they didn’t. For that, I’m disappointed.
“People look for excuses, and those are the things in life that get you into trouble. You can say, `Woe is me,’ or you can step up and play basketball.”
Rising star: Syracuse coaches have wondered when–not if–Damone Brown would blossom into a star.
The answer turned out to be Monday night. More specifically, the second half of the victory over UConn–the 6-foot-8-inch sophomore forward caught fire, scoring 14 points during a 25-6 run that blew open the game.
“The difference was we got Damone going,” Boeheim said. “Damone made a couple of great, tough shots.”
Brown said: “The first one that went in got me going. I just had to go out there, get in my rhythm and start playing.”
The outburst came in Brown’s 15th start. He’s averaging 12.1 points per game over his last seven starts and beginning to show some of the consistency Boeheim has demanded.
Stardom might not be far off. According to Boeheim, it’s only as far as the weight room, where Brown needs to add bulk to his 185-pound frame.
“He’s going to be a terrific player when he gets stronger,” Boeheim said. “I just hope it’s in my lifetime.”