Larry Eustachy has been to hell. Now he’s back.

Almost 11 months after resigning as the ISU head men’s basketball coach, Eustachy officially accepted the head coaching position at Southern Mississippi on Thursday.

Eustachy resigned from Iowa State on May 5, 2003, after pictures of him drinking and kissing women at a party in Columbia, Mo., after a game his team lost appeared in the Des Moines Register. He admitted he was an alcoholic and spent time in rehab.

Now the former Cyclone head man is back in a place he loves, the sideline of a college basketball game.

“Sometimes until you totally bottom out, you don’t really see what’s going on in your life,” Eustachy said at the press conference in Hattiesburg, Miss., announcing his return to coaching.

“I hit rock bottom with nobody to blame but myself. You can go one way or another … I am a recovering alcoholic, and it’s constant maintenance, it’s constant work. But where I find myself now, I’ve never felt better.”

Eustachy replaces James Green — himself a former ISU assistant — who resigned after his eighth season at Southern Mississippi. Green led his team to a 13-15 record this past season and a 6-10 mark in Conference USA.

Eustachy has received a lot of support in the past year, including a huge endorsement from close friend Tim Floyd. Eustachy took the Cyclone coaching job after Floyd left Iowa State to coach the Chicago Bulls of the NBA. Floyd is currently the coach of the New Orleans Hornets.

“It was very easy for me to say good things about him,” Floyd said.

“Obviously, the coaching didn’t need to be addressed. I’ve never been more proud of anyone in my life … the way he’s addressed his life and gone through rehab.

“You don’t win like he does unless you do it all.”

During his five-year career at Iowa State, Eustachy recorded a 101-59 record and led his teams to two appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

During the 2000 season, the Cyclones posted a 32-5 record and advanced to the Elite Eight before loosing to eventual national champion Michigan State. That season, Eustachy was named Associated Press Coach of the Year.

The Cyclones also won back-to-back Big 12 Conference championships in 2000 and 2001.

Although Eustachy now has no ties with Iowa State, Cyclone fans at Thursday’s NIT doubleheader at Hilton Coliseum were happy to see him back on the job.

“I’m not surprised [that he got a job],” said Ben Lyons, freshman in psychology.

“Good coaches get second chances, and he will do well for himself.”

Many Cyclone fans agreed that Eustachy deserved a second chance and said they are happy to see him with another team.

“He made a mistake; he didn’t break the law, it was just bad judgment,” said Mark Woofter of Des Moines.

“It’s good for him. He’s a good coach, and he’ll do well [at Southern Mississippi],” said Justin Olson, senior in electrical engineering. “It’s a high stress job, but he’ll be fine.”

Still others were a little more vocal with their support for Iowa State’s former coach.

“I thought Larry got the shaft,” said Al Penfold of Clear Lake. “I think they should have put him on probation here.”

Still, Penfold thinks all involved should move on.

“I don’t want to dwell on the past,” Penfold said. “I’d rather show how successful the Iowa State program is and support Larry.”

While most at Thursday’s games agreed Eustachy should be trusted with another team, some still have their reservations.

“If he rehabbed, then I think he deserves a second chance,” said Josie Floerchinger of Ankeny. “I just hope he wasn’t using alcoholism [as a way out]. Still, I’m happy for him and his family, and [hopefully] he can go on with his life.”

Bridgit Milhous, 3834 Hyde Ave., also had concerns.

“I don’t wish bad on anyone, and I think he deserves a second chance. I think he was a bad leader for the team,” Milhous said. “If you look at other players [on the team] who had problems, they needed a leader.”

— The Associated Press

contributed to this article.