Hinson in consideration for New Mexico State opening

SIU men’s basketball coach Barry Hinson squats during SIU’s 83-58 loss to the Shockers on Jan. 9 at SIU Arena. (DailyEgyptian.com file photo)

By Sean Carley, @SCarleyDE

After the Salukis’ most successful season in nearly 10 years, their head coach appears to be in demand.

SIU men’s basketball head coach Barry Hinson is being considered for the coaching vacancy at New Mexico State, according to CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish.

Hinson was the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after SIU (22-10, 11-7 MVC) experienced a 10-win turnaround.

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He has a 62-67 overall record at SIU and is 30-42 in MVC games.

The job at NMSU came open after Marvin Menzies accepted the head coaching position at Nevada-Las Vegas.

NMSU athletic director Mario Moccia was previously the athletic director at SIU and hired Hinson in 2012.

New Mexico State has been a perennial power in the Western Athletic Conference, making the NCAA tournament four of the last five years. 

The Aggies went 23-11 last season, 13-1 in conference, losing in the WAC championship game to Cal State-Bakersfield.

Despite his recent success, it appears Hinson is not the favorite for the job. 

Many in the Las Cruces area are campaigning for associate head coach Paul Weir to be Menzies’ replacement, according to the university’s student newspaper..

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“Fans and ex-players are 95% behind the hiring of Paul Weir,” Derek Gonzales, student reporter at NMSU’s The Round Up, wrote in a message on Twitter. “The 5% bring up that he is a Menzies disciple who was a part of the 3-15 mark against New Mexico and the 0-16 against Power 5 conference record.”

Matthew Taylor, Jalyn Pennie and Tanveer Bhullar, three current Aggies players, have taken to Twitter saying #WeirReady in support of the 10-year member of the Aggies basketball program.

SIU Athletics said it is Hinson’s policy to not comment on other jobs and NMSU athletics declined to comment on coaching rumors.

This story will be updated.

Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or at 618-536-3307.

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