A native of Chicago, Illinois, William Keys will begin his third season as assistant coach at NNMC. Before joining Northern, Keys spent four years as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Mayfield High School (Las Cruces, NM). He also served one year as an assistant varsity coach at Centennial High School (Las Cruces, NM) where he played an instrumental role in the teams state championship title in 2015.
Before his coaching career, Keys played fourteen years as a professional basketball player in various countries including, Spain, Italy, Israel, Greece, Ukraine and Finland. Keys is no stranger to college basketball, as he is a former New Mexico State Aggie and had the pleasure of playing under legendary Coach Lou Henson. During his time as an Aggie, Keys helped his team win the Big West Conference and Big West Tournament Championships, a berth to the NCAA Tournament and NIT Tournament appearances. Keys also earned Big West tournament MVP honors in 98-99 and was a preseason All-American candidate in 2000.
Billy earned his bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies at New Mexico State University. Keys is a proud father of five children, Aubrey, Keyshawn, Kaylon, Jayden and Josiah.
