Spare me. Think what you want about Paul and his public airing of grievances, but Larry and ISU did not "give" Paul his career. Paul gave himself his career through a high level of talent and hardwork. Did he use ISU (and possibly Larry) as a vehicle to get where he wanted to go? Sure, but Paul doesn't owe Larry, ISU, or any of us anything.
Paul Shirley: Not Surprisingly continues to be critical of Eustachy.
- Thread starter Lamoni
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Spare me. Think what you want about Paul and his public airing of grievances, but Larry and ISU did not "give" Paul his career. Paul gave himself his career through a high level of talent and hardwork. Did he use ISU (and possibly Larry) as a vehicle to get where he wanted to go? Sure, but Paul doesn't owe Larry, ISU, or any of us anything.
Exactly, just like we don't "owe" him our sympathy every time he wants to air his grievances. This thing has been played out numerous times and he'll apparently continue to go down this road whenever he's asked the question. Obviously it stirs a reaction from the fan base so interviewers are going to do their job and ask. If he wants to continue to flog Larry in public he's within his rights, but it's not a great look for him.
He earned a full academic scholarship to ISU so it's not like his life depended on basketball. To his credit/detriment (only he knows) he elected to stick it out, yet he ******* about his coach and the program more than all the other alums I can think of combined. As others have stated, if he's got such a hard on for Larry, I wish he'd get in front of him and settle it man to man....it might be good for both of them.
Someone asks Paul about a topic and he responds honestly. - It's called taking the high road. He should look into it. If an interviewer asks him about it then he ought to know what the interviewer is looking for. We all know how he feels about the guy by now.
So what if he utilizes repeatedly stating how bad things were behind the scenes to sell himself, as long as it's true? - Well, for one, that's an exploitation of their relationship. If he really has an issue or grievance with Eustachy, he should address it with him personally instead of using every public forum he gets as an opportunity to run him down for the sake of selling books.
Would you feel the same if he repeatedly gave glowing reports? - If Paul Shirley had nothing but nice things to say about Larry Eustachy then nobody would be interested in asking him about it, would they? Think about it.
Of course not, so just plug your ears if a little negative bothers you so. - I can handle a little negative. He made it apparent a long time ago that he had a difficult time with Eustachy and doesn't think much of him personally. But you only have to say it once to get your point across. Keep repeating it, and you're going to come off as a whiner or someone seeking attention.
Peace to you.
Cyclone Fanatic: Not Surprisingly Continues To Be Critical Of Paul Shirley.
My two cents:
The stuff he said about Haiti made national news. There were a lot of people that knew who he was for awhile. It was really stupid and resonated way more than a simple mis-speaking.
Obviously, the Eustachy stuff is on a much more local scale, but I think he damaged his image a bit with the Haiti comments. He's a grown man and is allowed to say dumb stuff. It's his choice and he has to deal with the consequences. However, that doesn't mean we wouldn't rather see someone associated with ISU shut up from time to time, especially when they have a larger social microphone than the rest of us.
In the end, I think most of us just hate seeing "Iowa State" being associated with some of the things he says. Sorta like when you're out with a group of friends and that one guy makes a complete ass of himself. You have no control over him, but it's still a little embarrassing.
I kinda think more of "this" should come out but about things like cheating, or sexual harassment. Not just because a guy is mean.
i agree with you completely, but people aren't saying they're tired of hearing about paul shirley because of what he said about haiti. also, people were interested in knowing about what happened behind closed doors with those eustachy teams, and again when more allegations came up recently with his colorado state team. the only problem i see here is that people don't want to hear shirley talk about it again because it annoys them and they feel like this is what has come to define paul shirley. if you just skimmed this thread you would probably think his new book was about how horrible of a person larry eustachy is.
You guys should read his latest book where he talks about things other than Larry Eustachy. Those chapters might not fit your narrative though...
Don't make assumptions. I liked Can I Keep my Jersey? Pretty sure I still have a copy somewhere in my house. I thought it was a funny and honest look at life on the NBA fringe.
You know, I've searched and I've searched, but I've never been able to find that laundry list of schollie offers that Paul had waiting for him before ISU gave him an academic scholarship and a spot on the team (thereby saving the MBB scholarship). In fact, in the bio for his book and in the book itself (written by him, as autobiographies are wont to be), it talks about how he was only getting offers at Ivy League and mid-major schools that had mediocre programs before the ISU opportunity showed up. (LINK and LINK). You'll have to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any of those types of schools being a 2 seed in the 2001 tourney, highlighted in spotlights and getting prime TV coverage. And I'm looking at that 2001 draft, and don't see a ton of Ivy League or mid-major school's recruits being drafted, or even looked at.
Paul is a very smart man. He played college ball in a power conference because Larry, as loathe as I am to give him accolades, gave Paul a shot that nobody else was giving him. Paul got signed and played pro ball because he was on a team (and did perform well) that was a media favorite type of story, he started writing at ESPN (who, again I might be wrong, but are a SPORTS MEDIA OUTLET) because of his sports experiences. He used his intelligence to leverage that into a weekly music column... until he sabotaged himself by saying horrific things about Haiti.
I've read plenty of his stuff - large portions of his book, his weekly article, and just random articles. Paul comes across as seeing himself as some undiscovered genius who deserves even more than he's received, but people like Larry keep pushing him down.
I was always a fan of Paul's, despite him seeming fairly pretentious, until his attitude started coming out. Like almost everyone else on this board, I'm an ISU fan first, Paul Shirley fan a long ways down the list. His continual comments where irrelevant do not help the school I love in any way, shape, or form. Their contributions toward helping bring to light LE's behavior were important and crucial in the beginning; now it's just him trying to stay in anyone's eye, and is willing to crap on ISU to do it.
Sorry if you're his uncle or something, but the "spare me" is freaking hilarious.
Thank you for the high level of research you did that doesn't actually prove your point.
Regardless of how many offers he had or didn't have, you have no way of knowing what Paul's career could have or would have been had he accepted an Ivy league scholarship or not played basketball at all. Maybe he wouldn't have had a shot at the NBA, but maybe he would have become an investment banker and made far more money. Again, ISU and Larry didn't give Paul his career.
I have no problem with people who view Paul negatively. Think what you want. I agree that the public airing of his grievances isn't a great look for him. That doesn't change my opinion that its utter ******** to say that Paul owes Larry or ISU anything.
I hope my word choice made you giggle a bit.
- Uncle Rico
not as sorry as i am if you're eustachy's wife..
I actually didn't really do any research, other than looking at the 2001 draft class (as I don't have that anywhere near my auto-recall) - I have followed Paul's career hopefully, as I do any ISU grad's on the radar. I think that his chances of success in his chosen career path are just as likely without ISU and Larry as you throwing a football over that mountain, Uncle Rico.
We can agree to disagree, and that's fine - I just think Paul at this point is causing a lot of people to view his tenure at ISU negatively, rather than positively as we once did.
I'm sure Larry's wife says that she doesn't really like him and thinks he was likely a bad person on a message board.
I'm sure Larry's wife says that she doesn't really like him and thinks he was likely a bad person on a message board.
i completely agree!
Could someone give me a rundown of his comments about Eustachy before this story? I'm not a huge basketball fan so I don't follow it all that closely, but I remember Shirley and this is the first I've read about his comments towards Eustachy.
