Utah State got the one it wanted. Larry Eustachy, who directed Idaho to a 24-8 record and the Big Sky Conference regular season title this season, is the new Aggie head basketball coach, it was announced this morning in a press conference at the Delta Center.
USU athletic director Chuck Bell called Eustachy "one of the rising stars in the coaching profession" and said he was the leading candidate for the job from the start. "He was our number one choice, and it doesn't always work out that you get your top choice," Bell said.Eustachy, 37, replaces Kohn Smith, who was told mid-season his contract would not be renewed.
"It took a special job to take me away from Idaho," Eustachy said. "It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make."
Eustachy's Idaho teams were 61-33 in three years. The Vandals wonthe Big Sky regular season outright this year, but failed to get a berth in either the NCAA or NIT tournaments after losing to Boise State in the conference tourney finals.
Prior to taking the head coaching job at Idaho, Eustachy served as an assistant coach at Ball State, Utah, Idaho and Mississippi State.
"I'm excited about the potential at Utah State," Eustachy said. "Utah State is one of the top four programs in the Big West Conference, and that's saying something with teams like UNLV in the league."
Eustachy said he is not interested in quick-fix solutions, but expects, with patience, the Aggies will compete for the conference championships and NCAA Tournament berths on a yearly basis.
Eustachy, who was an assistant under former Utah coach Lynn Archibald for two seasons, hopes his experiences in Utah will be more favorable this time.
In a story in the Lewiston (Idaho) Morning Tribune last week, Eustachy called his years at the U., "as frustrating a two years as I've ever had." He was particularly unimpressed with Archibald, whom Eustachy called "a complete idiot who made my life miserable."
After Archibald was fired from Utah, Eustachy went to Rick Majerus' old school, Ball State, for a year to as an assistant under Dick Hunsaker. That season the Cardinals won the Mid America Conference and advanced to the NCAA's "Sweet 16" before losing to eventually champion UNLV by two points. He was hired by Idaho as the head coach in 1989.
He was born in San Francisco and graduated from Arcadia High School in California in 1974. He played for Citrus JC in California, spent one year at Chico State and then transferred to Long Beach.