Despite illness, Lou Henson sure he'll be able to return to bench

Henson is recovering at home from his latest health problem.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Lou Henson is in a wheelchair and has no mobility in his right leg, but the New Mexico State men's basketball coach is optimistic he'll be back on the sidelines this season.
"I'm hoping that sometime after the first of the year, I can coach," Henson said in a telephone interview from his home in Las Cruces, N.M. "I told the doctor I can coach in a wheelchair."
The 72-year-old Henson, who ranks seventh among Division I coaches with 775 career wins, is recovering at home from his latest health problem -- viral encephalitis.
"He was in a light coma for several days," his wife Mary said.
Henson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer, in the summer of 2003. He underwent months of chemotherapy at Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
"The reason he got this [viral encephalitis] was probably because he had compromised his immune system because of the cancer," his wife said.
The cancer didn't keep Henson from coaching last season and although he won't start this season on the bench, he's looking at coaching in a couple months.
Henson is an icon in college coaching and among active coaches, only Bob Knight has more career victories.
Henson, a graduate of New Mexico State, led his alma mater to the Final Four in 1970, then went on to coach for 21 years at Illinois. He took the Illini to the NCAA tournament 12 times and to the Final Four in 1989.