Sam Houston’s Hooten to coach New Mexico St

New Mexico State’s basketball program ended its coaching search Friday, formally announcing the hire of Sam Houston State’s Jason Hooten.The Aggies zeroed in on Hooten previously in the week, sources said, and were able to seal the deal in spite of Sam Houston’s attempts to keep him from its intraconference rival.

“I think Coach Hooten is a significant fit for New Mexico State,” athletic director Mario Moccia stated. “Throughout his coaching career, he has actually demonstrated a capability to build hard-nosed, defensive-minded teams. Significantly, his programs are always designed on character and integrity.”

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1 Associated Hooten signs up with the Aggies after 13 seasons at Sam Houston State, where he racked up six 20-win seasons and a minimum of 18 wins in each of the last 10 seasons. He directed the Bearkats to the Southland regular-season championship in 2019 and also landed the front runner in this season’s WAC tournament.Prior to ending up being Sam Houston’s head coach, Hooten was an assistant coach with the Bearkats for 6 seasons.With Hooten’s hire, New Mexico State is hoping to turn the page from an awful season that left a cloud over the Aggies’program. They canceled their season in February after hazing accusations against 3 players. An authorities report pointed out three players for false imprisonment, harassment and counts of criminal sexual contact versus a teammate.Three months earlier, a New Mexico State player, Mike Peake, shot and killed a New Mexico trainee in

what cops have called self-defense. Several investigations have actually been released to determine whether coaches and staff members cooperated with authorities and were upcoming with proof following the shooting.Hooten replaces Greg Heiar, who was fired soon after the season’s cancellation in February.