Ten years after downfall, CSU coach has Rams in thick of title chase

A decade after Larry Eustachy made headlines for drinking beer with college kids, his life is a party again. But he’s sober, his drink of choice is Diet Coke, and his nightlife is highlighted by winning basketball games.

“My history is pretty well documented, unless you’ve been living in a cave,” he said.

Eustachy, a recovering alcoholic, will mark 10 years of sobriety in April. In 2003, he resigned as coach at Iowa State after photos of him partying with students circulated. He took a year off and waited for a second chance.

Last spring, he made a wise career choice and started making history in a different way at Colorado State, which is ranked for the first time in 59 years and stands a half-game out of first place in the Mountain West.

The 22nd-ranked Rams (21-4, 8-2) square off with UNLV (19-7, 6-5) at 7:15 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center, where Eustachy expects to be the target of taunts from the student section, because his history is well documented and not forgotten.

“I can handle anything,” he said. “This time around, I am enjoying it.”

His team is the real story, though. With an all-senior starting lineup, Colorado State is a college basketball rarity. A team that was built by Tim Miles, who left for Nebraska after last season, has become elite under Eustachy.

He walked into a good situation and made it better. Four seniors — forwards Pierce Hornung and Greg Smith and guards Dorian Green and Wes Eikmeier — returned and were joined by 6-foot-10-inch center Colton Iverson, a transfer from Minnesota.

“I feel very close to these guys really in a short period of time,” said Eustachy, who spent eight years in his second-chance job at Southern Mississippi before replacing Miles in Fort Collins.

The Rams, who lost at San Diego State (79-72 in overtime) and New Mexico (66-61) in January, bring a six-game conference win streak to Las Vegas, and Eustachy is being mentioned as a national coach of the year candidate.

“I can speak from experience because I took over a team last season that had four returning seniors and three who started for us,” Rebels coach Dave Rice said. “The thing that I give Coach Eustachy so much credit for is he has brought his defensive and rebounding mindset and yet he has allowed those returning guys to continue to play with the same flow and confidence on the offensive end.

“So he deserves a lot of credit, but so does Tim Miles for recruiting those guys and putting together a team that has a chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. They are experienced, they are tough, and they are good.”

Colorado State is the No. 1 rebounding team in the nation, outrebounding all 25 of its opponents, and an offensive rebound by Hornung helped the Rams close out a 66-61 victory over UNLV on Jan. 19.

The 6-5 Hornung, a blue-collar player who epitomizes his team, will present a tough challenge for Anthony Bennett, the Rebels’ 6-8 freshman forward, in a matchup UNLV must win. It’s also an individual matchup that epitomizes the teams.

Bennett is projected to be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft. Hornung is not a draft prospect. But while the Rebels are more flashy and talented, the Rams are more experienced and fundamentally sound.

One team is exceeding preseason expectations, and it’s not UNLV.

“How can you put those types of expectations on new players, even though you’ve got a guy like Bennett who’s probably or possibly the first pick in the draft?” Eustachy said. “I think that Dave has done a great job. He’s got young guys. That is a very difficult coaching situation.

“And I think, I’m going to say this, I think they will be playing as well as anybody sometime real soon.”

The Rams, off an 89-86 victory at Air Force in which all of their senior starters scored in double figures, are facing a challenging week that could determine their title hopes.

Eustachy is taking it one step at a time, much like a battle with alcoholism.

“I’m going to be totally honest,” he said. “I know we play UNLV on Wednesday and New Mexico on Saturday. I don’t know what’s after that, and that’s on my mother’s grave. We really try to stay focused daily.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.