Eustachy Is New Iowa State Coach

Larry Eustachy always felt it would take something extraordinary to lure him from Utah State.

Then the Iowa State job opened and Eustachy knew that was it.

Quickly concluding its search for a successor to Tim Floyd, Iowa State introduced Eustachy as its basketball coach Wednesday. The announcement came exactly one week after Floyd left to become director of basketball operations and coach-in-waiting for the Chicago Bulls.

Eustachy, once an assistant to Floyd, said he took the job because of the challenge and because Ames was a place in which he and his family could be comfortable.

"Five, six days ago, I thought I was going to be in Logan, Utah for a long, long time," said Eustachy, Utah State's coach for five years. "It took something extremely special to get me to leave what we had."

"If Iowa State was New York City, we would not be here," he said. "We're here because of Ames, because of the state and because of the people."

Eustachy later said something even more pleasing to the ear of Iowa State fans: He's in Ames for the long haul.

Floyd, who spent four years at Iowa State, was rumored to be in line for other jobs almost from the time he arrived. Eustachy, too, has entertained offers from other schools and turned down coaching jobs at San Jose State, UNLV and Oregon State.

But he said he's not interested in coaching anywhere other than Iowa State, including the NBA.

"This is it for me," he said. "There will be no shortcuts. This is long term."

"This is common ground to me," Eustachy said. "The NBA would be foreign."

Eustachy, 42, signed a five-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $140,000 annually. With outside income, his total package will be $500,000 a year.

"We strongly encouraged Larry Eustachy to stay at Utah State, but we couldn't come close to the financial package that Iowa State offered," Utah State athletic director Bruce Van De Velde said.

Iowa State athletic director Gene Smith called Eustachy last Thursday, the day after Floyd resigned, then flew to Utah to visit him. Iowa State vice president Murray Blackwelder, former Iowa State star Gary Thompson and businessman Richard Stark acompanied Smith in a jet that Stark provided.

Eustachy arrived in Ames on Monday, was offered the job and accepted immediately.

"When they told me I was the guy, we were genuinely excited," he said.

But he also noted, "I cried yesterday on a conference call with the team (at Utah State). I had tears last night talking to our president. It was difficult, but I knew I wanted to be here."

Eustachy's wife, Stacy, and their two sons, Hayden, 6, and Evan, 4, attended Wednesday's news conference. Hayden and Evan both wore red Iowa State T-shirts and carried a stuffed "Cy," the school's bird-like mascot.

His parents, George and Helen, also were in the audience, along with Utah State assistant Leonard Perry, who will join Eustachy's staff at Iowa State.

Eustachy was 98-53 at Utah State and is 159-86 overall, including three seasons at Idaho. He had three 20-victory seasons at Utah State and was 25-8 last season, when he guided the Aggies to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1988.

Smith had drawn up a list of potential coaching candidates even before Floyd resigned and, by Thursday, had narrowed his choices to four.

"There was one individual that met every single criteria that I was looking for in leadership," Smith said. "He is nationally recognized for his ability to take a team and prepare them to take the floor.

"He's a recruiter," Smith said. ``We needed someone that would go out and sell the university with the same passion as we do."

Eustachy coached under Floyd at Idaho in 1987 and also has been an assistant at Citrus College, Mississippi State, Utah and Ball State. While his coaching philosophy is similar to Floyd's in his commitment to defense and rebounding, Eustachy said he is not a Floyd clone.

"Don't call me Tim's boy," he said with a smile.

"Call me Johnny's boy," he said, referring to Johnny Orr, who preceded Floyd as Iowa State coach. "I know Johnny just as well."

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