Opinion: Is CSU basketball coach Larry Eustachy worth $1 million a year? This column is written by and contains the opinion of Coloradoan sports editor Miles Blumhardt

Miles Blumhardt | The Coloradoan

Show Caption Hide Caption Larry Eustachy sings "Sweet Caroline" with CSU students Larry Eustachy sings the Neil Diamond anthem with the students section at the end of the 3rd quarter of Saturday's CSU vs Boise State football game.

While much of the recent national buzz around CSU athletics has surrounded the football team, the men's basketball team is flying under the radar, and coach Larry Eustachy can be thankful for that.

CSU sensational wide receiver Michael Gallup's appearance on ESPN's awards show Thursday during the Biletnikoff Award presentation, which he didn't win, will do much more for recruiting than playing in the New Mexico Bowl. Recruits don't care about a bowl in Albuquerque, much less know where the city is unless they watched "Breaking Bad.''

But football coach Mike Bobo can proudly point out to a recruit that could be him on the awards show when out on the recruiting trail. After all, the Rams' Rashard Higgins was up for the same award in 2014.

Having offensive coordinator Will Friend and cornerbacks coach Terry Fair leave for a Power 5 conference team in Tennessee further shines a positive national spotlight on the CSU football program. When Power 5 teams are picking off your coaches, that shows recruits you've got game, even if you are a 7-5 Mountain West team.

And, yes, there is some interest in the Rams playing Marshall in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 16. Maybe more from Bobo's perspective than the fans. The third-year coach desperately needs a bowl win after embarrassing losses the last two bowls to quell some of the fans' unease.

Rams: Beefed up schedule taking a toll on CSU basketball

But after next week, the CSU sports attention will move to the men's basketball team, where things aren't pretty.

If you hadn't noticed, the 4-6 Rams are looking at their worst nonconference record in a decade. They did beat Colorado, a young team that will flounder in the Pac 12. But their six losses have been by an average of more than 20 points per game, and they are coming off back-to-back drubbings by Oregon (30 points) and Arkansas (26 points).

To surpass .500 before Mountain West play starts Dec. 28 against Boise State, which beat Oregon on a buzzer-beater, the Rams will need to beat Texas State, Arkansas-Fort Smith and Long Beach State.

Eustachy's boys can surely do that, can't they? One would hope.

But Texas State (5-4) only lost to Air Force by eight points. Arkansas-Fort Smith is 9-0, which granted one of those wins is by three over CSU-Pueblo. And Long Beach State, Eustachy's alma mater, is only 4-7 but did beat Tim Miles' Nebraska squad, 85-80.

Eustachy keeps calling this a rebuilding year and that his team will be much better next year. The problem is he keeps saying that every year. It's not that he's inaccurate when he says he has a lot of new players each year. He does every year because of his heavy reliance on transfers and JUCO players.

More: CSU basketball's Raquan Mitchell: 'It’s amazing how we made it this far'

He has one true freshman on this year's team in forward Ryan Logan.

He prefers transfers and JUCO players because they have already gone through being away from home and adjusting to collegiate academic and athletic life.

That has some merit, especially with how many transfers there are these days. And Eustachy has had some recent success going that route with the likes of Gian Clavell, Emanuel Omogobo, J.J. Avila and Stanton Kidd.

The downside on putting so much emphasis on transfers and JUCOs is it creates a continual rebuilding process for the Rams that has resulted in up-and-down seasons. Wouldn't it be better to build a program with high school seniors and filling in with transfers and JUCOS?

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Recruit well and and coach well, and those players will be your foundation and should lead to sustained success.

Instead, Eustachy's teams have been a consistent roller-coaster ride. His first year, with Tim Miles' players, he went 26-9 and earned the only NCAA tournament berth in his five years at CSU. The Rams then went 18-16, 27-7, 16-16 and 26-9.

Related: Eustachy says TV networks 'are drawing the (NCAA) brackets up'

What does that tell you this season might look like?

He deserves discredit for three players becoming academically ineligible for the second half of the season last year. But he also deserves credit for his best coaching job at CSU, leading the depleted Rams to a runner-up finish at the MW tournament.

Going heavy on the transfer and JUCO route creates another issue — lack of connectivity to the fan base as players are two-and-done at most. And Eustachy needs to put fans in the seats. Average attendance the past two seasons has dipped below 4,000 each year, which hasn't happened since 2009-10.

This nonconference schedule is the most aggressive in many years, which is what the MW has encouraged schools to do. Before the season, the schedule was among the toughest of any MW schools. Kudos to athletic director Joe Parker, Eustachy and his assistants for the aggressive scheduling.

The hope is playing better competition will ready the Rams for the MW tournament, where winning it is their only real shot at making the NCAA Tournament field.

But unless Eustachy can pull off a miracle like last year, the Rams will once again be around a .500 team and be lucky to play in any postseason tournament.

Eustachy is signed through the 2020-21 season, by which time his annual salary will exceed $1 million.

Given his track record here, it begs the question: Is Larry Eustachy worth $1 million a year?

Previously: CSU's Eustachy: 'I'm comfortable with who I am'