Las Cruces, N.M. ? Frail but smiling, New Mexico State coach Lou Henson pulled himself up from his wheelchair, his focus no longer on winning basketball games, but merely to walk again.

Henson, who began his coaching career at nearby Las Cruces High in 1957, retired Saturday, 21 wins shy of becoming only the fifth coach in Division One history to win 800 games.

The coach known for his “Lou Do” hairstyle, his sometimes fiery courtside manner and ability to consistently turn out winning teams found his ongoing health problems too tough an opponent.

“I have always been a very demanding coach. I expect my players to give 100 percent or they come out of the game,” the 73-year-old Henson said. “I can expect no less of myself. So because I am physically unable to give my all, I am taking myself out of the game.”

Henson was not able to coach this season, but received credit for the Aggies’ four wins to date. Under interim coach Tony Stubblefield, the Aggies are 4-13.

Henson retires with a career record of 779-413, the sixth-winningest in Division One history. Among active coaches, only Bob Knight has more victories.

Accompanied by his wife Mary, Henson received several standing ovations from the crowd of school officials, players and friends at the Fulton Athletics Center.

Henson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of cancer, two years ago. The cancer now is in remission, and he was able to coach last season, but in September was hospitalized with viral encephalitis, a disease which left his right leg paralyzed.

“Mary and I have known for a while that we didn’t have much of a choice,” Henson said. “It was an easy decision because in the last two years I’ve gone through some major health problems.”

Henson coached at New Mexico State, his alma mater, from 1966 to 1975, then spent 21 years at Illinois, before retiring in 1996. That lasted only a year, with Henson returning to New Mexico State after Neil McCarthy was fired just before the start of the 1997-98 season.

In a 41-year career, Henson became the winningest coach at Illinois and New Mexico State. He led both schools to the Final Four — the Aggies in 1970 and the Illini in 1989.

Colleagues like Knight, with whom Henson carried on a fierce rivalry when both were in the Big Ten, praised Henson’s ability to get the most from his players.

“I think Lou’s teams were always among the best prepared and that made the games fun and interesting for the fans,” Knight said in a statement issued by New Mexico State.