Determined Sutton, Eagles work toward NCAA invite - TW

[ORUTerry]

Determined Sutton, Eagles work toward NCAA invite

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer

1/19/2006

It would have been understandable had Scott Sutton tossed himself a pity party last March. After all, few coaches have to handle what Sutton endured when Oral Roberts University's dream basketball season blew up in the Golden Eagles' faces.

Sure, every coach is going to face tough defeats if he or she stays in the profession long enough. But not many will experience a loss as devastating as this one.

You probably know the story: Call it "A Nightmare On Mingo Road." An Oakland University player tossed in a 3-point prayer with 1.3 seconds left to win the Mid-Continent Conference title over ORU, costing the Eagles their first NCAA Tournament bid in 21 seasons.

What you probably don't know is the rest of Sutton's story. Instead of feeling sorry for himself after six years of hard work were wiped out by that 61-60 loss at the Union Multipurpose Activity Center on South Mingo Road, Sutton sucked it up.

Electing not to wallow in the misery of a 25-win season gone terribly wrong, Sutton rededicated his efforts to bring ORU that elusive invitation to the Big Dance. He toughened up the Eagles' nonconference schedule and hit the recruiting trail in search of players who could help ORU finally

partake in March Madness.

With those dream-wrecking Oakland Grizzles back in T-Town for the 7:05 p.m. Thursday rematch with ORU at the Mabee Center, the time seems right to assess Sutton's efforts.

On the recruiting front, Sutton has continued to build on his impressive successes of recent years. He hauled in three more excellent prospects during the fall signing period, including two high school players and a 6-foot-10 junior college stud.

On the surface, the change in scheduling philosophy appears to be a bust for the 9-8 Eagles. ORU lost to Marquette, Minnesota, Missouri State, Utah State (twice) and Oklahoma.

Sutton scheduled those five teams to improve ORU's chances to make the NCAA Tournament even if it lost the Mid-Con Tournament and the league's automatic bid. ORU's 25 wins last season weren't enough to convince the selection committee to award an at-large berth because the Eagles ranked low in the all-important RPI.

"I really felt like we had the team to handle that schedule," Sutton said.

ORU wasn't that far off. Its two losses to Utah State were by a combined six points, there was a three-point setback to Marquette and the Eagles pushed Oklahoma before losing by eight in Norman.

"It wasn't that far-fetched that we could have won three or four of those games," Sutton said.

A closer look reveals ORU could still win because of those losses. The Eagles were probably going to have to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA field anyway, so playing stiff competition early should help when the Mid-Con Tournament returns to the UMAC in seven weeks.

"Am I disappointed with our record? Yes," Sutton said. "But I think the schedule has definitely gotten this team tougher and made the players better."

It's also taken a toll. Junior guard Ken Tutt broke a foot two weeks ago, and isn't expected back for at least a month. But Sutton, again declining to play the woe-is-me card, said Tutt's injury will force the Eagles to develop their backcourt scoring depth with seniors Andrew Meloy and Chris Riouse.

ORU's always going to have a chance if forward Caleb Green stays healthy. Part of the dynamic junior duo along with Tutt, the 6-foot-8 Green has been a one-man wrecking crew since Tutt went down, leading the Mid-Con in scoring (21.7) and rebounding (9.1) per game.

"I still believe this team can win the (regular-season) championship with Ken only playing a few games," Sutton said. "Obviously, the main goal and the thing that we want to make sure we do is get ready for the conference tournament."

Sutton learned Tuesday that Tutt and his 14.1-points-per-game average could return a week earlier than originally thought.

That would mean the sharp-shooting Texan would have the final four regular-season games to knock off the rust as the Eagles prepare for the Mid-Con Tournament March 4-7.

"The bottom line is what happens in the end," Sutton said.

"We won 25 games last year, and all people remember is we got upset in the finals.

"If we go on and win the conference tournament, people aren't going to remember how we started this season; they are going to remember what happened at the end."

So instead of throwing a pity party, Sutton and the Eagles are determined to find a way to live their own version of "Glory Road" the next time they play out on South Mingo Road.