Branden Lombardi Staff Writer

It's weeks like these that Wildcat fans should feel lucky they have good old Lute as head basketball coach.

Not only does he turn out one of the best teams in the country year after year, but he would never be caught dead at a fraternity party pounding a few Natural Lights.

Believe me; yours truly would like nothing more than to see Lute Olson make a guest appearance at my fraternity's next bid night party. The silver-haired one would most assuredly be the life of the party, but against his own better judgment, Lute will never put himself in that situation.

Shouldn't all college basketball coaches be as lucky to have the judgment that Lute does?

However, that just isn't the case, as we learned this week with the story breaking about Iowa State basketball coach Larry Eustachy.

Photographs of Eustachy have surfaced showing the 47-year-old coach at an after-hours party on the campus of the University of Missouri.

While on the surface that doesn't sound too bad, the details of the incident makes one have to wonder what Eustachy thinking.

Not only was he attending a party at a rival school, but he arrived at the party with a University of Missouri player, Josh Kroenke.

The pictures depict a suave Eustachy, beer in hand, cozying up next to some of Mizzou's finest coeds.

Sure, you say to yourself, how bad can this be? The coach still likes to let loose and pound a few with his boys.

Yet, his boys were licking their wounds in a Columbia, Mo., hotel after suffering a 64-59 loss to the Tigers, while their coach was out having a good time posing for pictures with the enemy.

Eustachy has told the Iowa State president and athletic director that he exercised "poor judgement" in attending the party.

Yet, this was not an isolated incident. It has now come to light that Eustachy also attended a fraternity party on the campus of Kansas State University.

It was at this party that the coach wound up in an argument with a 19-year-old fraternity member who found the coach with his arm around his sister.

The girl told newspapers that Eustachy complimented her on her appearance, and added that she should be attending the University of Kansas, "where the girls are much hotter."

In a statement released Monday Eustachy also said, "I want the people of Iowa and the fans of our program throughout the nation to know how sorry I am to have disappointed them with some poor decisions I have made. But words are cheap at a time like this, and I hope to be measured by my future conduct."

Now the question for Iowa State and its basketball program is whether they should keep Eustachy as their basketball coach.

The controversy that is now surrounding this coach shows a pattern of "poor judgment" as he says, but also a lack of respect not only for the players on his team, but for the university that he represents.

Eustachy has placed some of the blame on a drinking problem, and while alcoholism is never funny, it should also not be used in this situation as a scapegoat.

Any player who was caught attending a party after a game on the campus of an opposing team would be reprimanded and face serious punishments not only from his coach, but also from the university that he represents.

A coach, however, should be held to higher standards, for several reasons including the fact that he is paid, and most certainly the fact that a higher level of maturity is expected from a man in his forties than from a young man in his teens or early twenties.

Many in the state of Iowa have already called for Eustachy's job. Maybe he shouldn't be fired, but he should definitely be held accountable for his actions.

Not only should he apologize to his family for embarrassing them, but also to every single Iowa State player, student, faculty member and alumni member across the country for actions that don't represent the highest-paid employee in the state of Iowa, but more appropriately represent the actions of the students on his campus.

One thing we can all learn from this here at Arizona is to praise Lute even more.

We sure know that at no point in the near future are photos of Lute and a blonde coed going to surface around the UA ÷ unless of course that blond happens to be Olson's new wife.