The dominant historical figure of Colorado State men's basketball is Jim Williams. Williams coached CSU for 26 seasons beginning in 1955, winning 352 games and taking the team to 4 NCAA tournaments, including the quarterfinals in 1969. He also led the team to 2 upsets of UCLA, then led by legendary coach John Wooden. Entering the 2005–6 season, 30% of all CSU men's basketball game had been coached by Williams. In 1988, Boyd Grant, a standout under Williams, returned to CSU to coach. That same season the Rams made their first post-season appearance in over two decades, climbing to 3rd place in the NIT. The team's success continued in 1989 and 1990 with consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles and NCAA appearances. However, it would be until 2003 before the Rams claimed another conference title. Jason Smith became only the second CSU player to be picked in the first round of the NBA draft. Smith's early departure, along with several legal issues and transfers, left the program with just two remaining scholarship players when CSU hired North Dakota State's Tim Miles in March 2007. Under Miles the program gradually improved, culminating with the Rams' first at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament in more than two decades in 2012. Following the season, Miles departed for the head coaching position at Nebraska. Colorado State hired Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy to take over in April 2012. The program flourished the following season, cracking the top 25 for the first time since 1954 and setting a record for most wins. The Rams went 26–9, finished in second place in the Mountain West, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament again. CSU defeated Missouri 84–72 in the second round, marking their first NCAA Tournament win since 1989, before falling to top-seed Louisville in the third round.