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A little planning relieved McKinley Boston from weeks of stressing over his men's basketball coaching vacancy.

Boston, New Mexico State's athletics director, said he knew weeks ago that the meteoric coaching rise of Reggie Theus could soon stretch to the NBA. By the time the Sacramento Kings hired Theus away from the Aggies on Tuesday, Boston already had hired search firm agency Champ Search and started compiling a list of candidates to interview.

That's why the Aggies expect to have a news conference to introduce a new head coach on Friday, Boston said.

Boston will be in California this weekend to interview six of his top-eight candidates. One of the candidates is former Ole Miss and Arizona State coach Rob Evans, an NMSU graduate. Aggies assistants Damon Archibald and Chris Pompey will get interviews Monday.

"My relationship with Reggie made it easy for me to do some of the things I needed to do, to look ahead," Boston said. "He kept me in the loop of what was going on. In the last week, I was probably as organized in the process as I could have been. I've hit the ground running."

Theus has received a reported three-year, $6 million deal to coach the Kings after leading New Mexico State to 25 wins and an NCAA Tournament berth last season Í just two years removed from NMSU's 6-24 season in 2004-05.

The Aggies' new coach will inherit a team that includes five seniors and a talent-rich recruiting class led by top-40 high school player Herb Pope. Although Pittsburgh newspapers are reporting Pope is leaning toward spurning New Mexico State, Boston said he expects to retain all five members of the 2007 recruiting class. Boston added he doesn't plan to grant any player's request to escape a letter of intent.

The final list of candidates includes assistant coaches from top programs, Boston said. When asked if he's interviewing Texas assistant Rodney Terry, Boston said there's "a range of people out there we're talking to."

Finding the right guy could hinge on Boston's intuition, or what he calls "finding the right fit." That's where 30 years of athletics administration experience comes into play, Boston said. Though there's no exact blueprint to follow, Boston said there's always the temptation to follow the formula that landed Theus Í snag an up-and-coming guy with charisma.

"He could walk into this room right now, we'd talk for 10 minutes and I'd know," Boston said. "This is part of what I've been doing for 30 years. I'm not auditioning for this job, I'm not looking over my shoulder. I'll make a decision based on what I think is the right thing to do."

Theus said he will talk with Boston in the coming days about basketball philosophies and the characteristics of the ideal candidate, but Boston has all leverage on the final decision.

Continuity is paramount with an already-established team that can build off last year's success without making drastic changes, Theus said. That could better the chances for Pompey or Archibald to land the job. Theus said his players like the staff still in place.

"I've become the biggest cheerleader for this university," Theus said. "I hope as the process goes on, and we'll continue to talk about it. He made a pretty good choice last time, and he'll make a good choice this time."

Theus and Boston talked up New Mexico State's athletics program during a half-hour news conference Friday, saying the men's basketball position can be one of the best in the country and Aggies' goal is to become the country's top mid-major.

If that's the plan, then what's Theus' advice for the new coach?

"Don't mess it up," Theus said. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."