Football
Associated Press 18y

Big 12 coaches sad to see Sutton out of coaching

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The end of Eddie Sutton's illustrious
coaching career is just about the last thing Kelvin Sampson wants
to see.

It matters not that Sampson's Oklahoma team has to confront
Sutton's tough, well-drilled Oklahoma State Cowboys at least twice
every year. The respect and fondness Sampson feels for his
archrival's accomplished head coach is too great to suppress.

"I hope he's back next year. I mean this sincerely," Sampson
said Monday, shortly after Oklahoma State announced its 69-year-old
coach was taking a medical leave for the rest of the season.

"I've never coached against a better coach than Eddie Sutton,"
Sampson said. "I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Sutton, who has been bothered all year with chronic back and hip
problems, sustained head and facial injuries Friday when his sport
utility vehicle crashed into another vehicle in Stillwater, Okla.

There were no other serious injuries. But adding to everyone's
sense of sadness was the news Monday that he had been cited with
driving under the influence.

Sean Sutton, his son and designated successor, will finish out
the season for the Cowboys. The school said no decision has been
made about whether the end has come to Eddie Sutton's long and
productive career that's only six wins short of 800.

"I just hope he can get back," said Texas coach Rick Barnes.

In his 36th season, Sutton has hinted he might coach one more
year. Earlier this month, after Oklahoma State beat Kansas State in
its once-every-two-years trip to Kansas State, he had said with a
grin that it would probably be his last appearance there.

But a moment later he also disclosed that his back was killing
him.

"It's obvious he's been in pain," said Barnes. "I've been
worried all year just watching. I knew he was having a tough time --
if somebody came crashing into the bench, maybe him not being able
to get out of the way."

Although he has never won a national championship, Sutton has
done just about everything else in college basketball since he came
out of little Bucklin, Kan., to play for Oklahoma State's legendary
Henry Iba. He was a winner at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky
before taking charge at his alma mater in 1990.

He took Arkansas to the Final Four and his Oklahoma State teams
have been there twice. He has become so popular at Oklahoma State
the court has been named in his honor and the fans at always-packed
Gallagher-Iba Arena chant "Edd-DEE, Edd-DEE" whenever he
questions an official's call.

"I think (Sutton is) one of the best and most brilliant
basketball minds that's been around college basketball," said
Baylor coach Scott Drew.

His record at Oklahoma State stands at 364-146. For his 36-year
career, he has 794 victories.

He has not been free of controversy. He resigned from Kentucky
in 1989, and the Wildcats, who have a long history of NCAA
troubles, were placed on a four-year probation. When he was
introduced at Oklahoma State the following season, he spoke freely
of an alcohol problem and his treatment at the Betty Ford Center.

If his career does end this season, he would go out with one of
his worst records in any year. Going into Monday night's game
against Kansas, his youthful Cowboys were 13-11 overall and 3-7 in
the Big 12 Conference, near the bottom.

But it's only as a winner that Eddie Sutton will be remembered.

"The one thing he always stood for was class," said Kansas
coach Bill Self, who played at Oklahoma State and is one of
Sutton's biggest admirers.

"Regardless of the situation, he always handled things very
professionally. That's also been a positive influence for me. We
still do drills very similar to what we did at Oklahoma State."

The only active coach with more wins than Sutton is Texas Tech's
Bob Knight. While Knight was at Indiana and Sutton was at Kentucky,
the two had some memorable tussles both on the court and on the
recruiting trail.

"He's been a very good coach at a number of different
schools," Knight said. "His teams have always been very sound
fundamentally. They've played both ends of the floor extremely
well."

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