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NCAA Basketball: Stevens, Huggins among top head coaching hires of 2007

By Joey Loose

COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins and John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines shake hands after a college basketball game at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Head coach Mark Turgeon of the Maryland Terrapins and John Beilein of the Michigan Wolverines shake hands after a college basketball game at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Marvin Menzies New Mexico State Aggies (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
NCAA Basketball Marvin Menzies New Mexico State Aggies (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /

10. Marvin Menzies (New Mexico State)

New Mexico State has had some great years in their history; heck the 1970 Aggies even made the Final Four. The 2007 team won the WAC and returned to the NCAA Tournament after an eight-year absence, but lost coach Reggie Theus to the NBA. The Aggies had only just joined the WAC a few seasons ago and the next head coach would have to help establish the program in their new conference.

Marvin Menzies had bounced around the college basketball world quite a bit but had very little head coaching experience. Formerly an assistant under coaches like Rick Pitino, Lon Kruger, and Steve Fisher, Menzies had spent just a single season as a junior college head coach in California. After nine years as a D1 assistant, he was ready for his first D1 head coaching job, and he aced it with flying colors.

Menzies accomplished the task and made New Mexico State far and away the best program in the WAC. He led the Aggies to five NCAA Tournaments in nine years, winning 73% of their conference games. His program won at least 21 games in seven of his seasons, and that success has paved the way for New Mexico State to continue to sit on the pedestal of the WAC, even after Menzies left for UNLV in 2016.

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