Peterson: Nothing surprising about Larry Eustachy getting in trouble again
So Larry Eustachy’s back in the not-so-good news. Creating a culture of fear and intimidation, according to a 2014 investigation by his employer, Colorado State, that was published exclusively by the Fort Collins Coloradoan. Emotionally abusing his players, the previously uncovered investigation says.
Thankfully for his family, his legions of faithful friends, and most important — himself — there’s no mention about the alcohol abuse that was part of his five-season run as Iowa State’s highly successful basketball coach. There weren’t any Missouri-like party pictures floating around in the Colorado State report — like there were before he resigned after The Register published the photos in spring of 2003.
But Wednesday's published report was revealing enough without them.
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Details in the investigation provide another example that, too often, the pursuit of excellence overshadows coaching behavior in this mega-buck business that is college athletics. Just win, baby ... but don’t get caught embarrassing your school.
Did college decision-makers believe the popular former Cyclones coach could change the way he coaches, make over his persona and suddenly turn into a nice-guy coaching conformist?
For a while, maybe. But forever and ever?
That reality is Eustachy couldn't change his style, according to the three-year-old Colorado State investigation that finally became public. He broke eraser boards in front of players in the locker room, according to the report. He threw unopened soda cans against walls. He sometimes told his assists to shut the f--- up. He called players highly profane names.
According to the Coloradoan, video in the report showed Eustachy “berating players, throwing a chair and punting a basketball in closed practices.”
If you’re thinking “bully,” you’re onto something.
Eustachy is 61. He’s been a head coach 26 seasons. His theme song could be "My Way" — because that’s the way he is.
It’s Larry being Larry, I heard many times during his Iowa State coaching career that included Big 12 titles in 2000 and 2001, a No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed in 2001 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2000.
He did things his way and if you didn’t like it, well, you dealt with it. That’s what fans, his staff and the school’s administrators (none of whom currently work for Iowa State) did, as his teams were winning titles and trophies.
Fans loved every minute of Eustachy’s Cyclones coaching existence — until publication of the pictures exposed something more serious than partying with students in the wee hours of the morning after a 2003 loss at Missouri.
The embarrassing photos were Eustachy’s wake-up call to something very serious, more grave than losing a first-round NCAA Tournament game against a team called Hampton — or even against Kansas.
For the first time, Eustachy acknowledged his battle with alcoholism.
“You know, some life-changing events happened that made me much better,” Eustachy told the Register before bringing his Colorado State teams to Iowa for a 2015 game at Northern Iowa. “Things happen for a reason.”
He cleaned up his off-the-court life. He went on the wagon. He maintained his feistiness, don’t get me wrong, but nothing really serious emerged until this 2014 report came out.
Culture of fear and intimidation. Emotionally-abused players.
The warning signs were around for a while; except that no one in an official capacity recognized it or mentioned it. His teams were winning. Apparently that's what was important, regardless of the toll it took on some players.
Paul Shirley, a Eustachy multi-game starter, wrote a first-person piece for The Register in 2012. This sentence still resonates:
“I never forgave Larry Eustachy for what he turned basketball into for me: an endurance test, boot camp, psychological warfare.”
Shirley played eight seasons of pro basketball for teams in the NBA and Europe. He wrote about his travels in the book: "Can I keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years In my Life As A Basketball Vagabond."
He was a starter on just the fourth No. 2 NCAA Tournament seed to lose against a No. 15 seed — Hampton, in the 2001 tournament in Boise, Idaho.
“We lost because Larry Eustachy was tired of us, because we were tired of him, because we were all tired of each other,” Shirley wrote.
Eustachy was tough on his Iowa State players. He demanded perfection, especially on the defensive end of the basketball floor. It was his way of making very good players even better players — and Larry was darn good at it.
"This group in the worst way lacks any presence at all of physicalness, of toughness, of gameness and of competitiveness," he said after a 2001 nonconference game against Hartford. “Until we get that in practice, it will never show up in a game."
He said that after a 29-point victory.
It’s Larry being Larry. He wore a black mock turtle neck during games. His demanded relentless aggressiveness and toughness, not only in games, but also in practice.
His sideline demeanor was flamboyant, sometimes to such an extreme that he was ejected from a 2000 Elite Eight game against Michigan State in which the winner advanced to the Final Four.
It was part of his Iowa State DNA. It was part of Larry Eustachy’s Iowa State mystique — and no one should be surprised that he’s in the bad news again.
Randy Peterson, senior sports reporter, has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at RandyPete.