STILLWATER, Okla. -- Eddie Sutton passed Lefty Driesell for
fifth place on the career coaching wins list with Oklahoma State's
64-54 victory over SMU on Saturday night.
Sutton, 787-300 in his 36-year coaching career, trails only
North Carolina's Dean Smith, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, Texas Tech's
Bob Knight and Jim Phelan of Mount St. Mary's.
Among active coaches, only Knight, who had 859 wins heading into
Texas Tech's game against San Francisco on Saturday night, has more
victories.
"I had such great respect for so many of those people that I
have passed," Sutton said. "I mean, golly, they're great coaches.
They just didn't stay in the game as long as I have. They didn't
have that many victories."
Fans chanted, "Eddie! Eddie!" for the final 30 seconds of his
latest win, and Sutton was given a glass award with his likeness
and the number 787 carved into it in recognition of the milestone.
He lowered his head and accepted the award as the public address
announcer explained the win's significance. Sutton then walked off
the court with his team without saying a word.
The 69-year-old Sutton was 82-50 in five years at Creighton,
260-75 in 11 years at Arkansas and 88-39 in four years at Kentucky
before returning to his alma mater in 1990.
His record at Oklahoma State is 357-136.
Driesell had a career record of 786-394 at Davidson, Maryland,
James Madison and Georgia State before retiring at age 71 in
January 2003.