All of a Sutton, it's Scott

[ORUalum]

All of a Sutton, it's Scott

Eddie's youngest son guides Oral Roberts into NCAA tourney

By Mark StoryHERALD-LEADER SPORTS COLUMNIST

Through the magic of newspaper time travel, let's flash back some two decades.

When Eddie Sutton was leading the Kentucky Wildcats into NCAA Tournaments in the late 1980s, it was assumed by many that one of his sons would someday follow the exact same path.

From the time he became the proverbial "coach on the floor" as Al Prewitt's point guard at Henry Clay High, Sean Sutton seemed a coach in training. Running the point as a player for his dad at both Kentucky and Oklahoma State only reinforced the impression that Sean was the Sutton born to coach.

Now, let's return to the present. When the 2006 NCAA Tournament tips off, that long-ago prediction will come true. A son of Eddie Sutton will coach his team into the NCAA Tournament.

But there is a twist. The first "second-generation Sutton" to reach the large sock-hop as a college head coach is not Sean, but his younger brother Scott.

It was Scott Sutton calling the shots from the sideline last week as Oral Roberts University -- the Tulsa, Okla., school and namesake of the famous 88-year-old preacher -- earned its first NCAA bid in 22 years with a victory over Chicago State in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament finals.

"After what happened last year, it's a good feeling," Sutton said, via phone, last week.

Those who love the phenomenon that is March Madness should recall Oakland University.

The Michigan school crashed the NCAA tourney a year ago with a 12-18 record. That ultimate March Cinderella story, however, came at the expense of Scott Sutton. A year ago, Sutton's Golden Eagles entered the conference tournament finals at 25-7.

But committing an unpardonable sin of March basketball, they let an underdog "hang around" till the end of the game. An Oakland three-pointer with 1.3 seconds left took away the NCAA bid that ORU could all but taste.

"I live about 3 miles from the arena it took place in, so there were constant reminders," Sutton says of last year's disappointment. "It was tough."

Of course, Scott Sutton's March success this season has been a family beacon in what has otherwise been a bleak couple of months.

In February, Eddie Sutton was involved in a two-car accident. Subsequent to the wreck, the veteran Oklahoma State coach was charged with DUI after his blood/alcohol level was shown to be almost three times the legal limit.

A recovering alcoholic who had been taking pain medicine for a chronic back problem, Eddie Sutton acknowledged that he had had a relapse and entered a substance-abuse rehab program.

"He's doing great," Scott Sutton said of his dad. "He had surgery on his back and that went well. He's feeling better than he's felt in a long, long time."

After the car accident, Eddie Sutton took a medical leave of absence from his coaching duties. Sean Sutton -- who had already been named his dad's eventual replacement at OSU, whenever Eddie stepped down -- took over the team.

Whether that transition will be permanent has not been publicly announced.

"I think if Dad wants to, he deserves to come back," Scott Sutton said. "I wouldn't encourage him to do that. But I do think he should be able to if that's what he wants to do."

In their Kentucky days, Scott always seemed a bit in Sean's shadow (they have an older brother, Steve, who did not go into coaching).

Sean was already an established high school standout in Arkansas when his dad came to UK as head coach. After two years starting at Henry Clay, he signed with Kentucky.

As a player, Scott Sutton was more of a late-bloomer. Still, he left some hoops footprints in Lexington. A 6-foot-6 wing shooter, Scott was a first-team All-City selection for Henry Clay during his senior year in 1989.

He poured in 21 points in an '89 Henry Clay victory over Bryan Station that was notable in state history because it gave the venerable Prewitt the 600th win of his high school coaching career.

"I really enjoyed growing up in Lexington," Scott says. "I remember the first time I walked into Rupp Arena. I was in awe. How big it was. The aura of Kentucky basketball. The whole Sutton family really enjoyed Lexington until that final year."

That would be 1988-89, when Eddie Sutton's Kentucky program became consumed in the "Emery Package scandal" that eventually led to the coach's resignation at UK.

After a season out of coaching (he was never personally implicated in the UK cheating), Eddie resumed his coaching career at Oklahoma State.

Scott spent the first two years of his college career playing for Don Lane at Transylvania. After his dad resumed coaching in Stillwater, Scott transferred to OSU and played his final two years there.

One of the coaches on Eddie Sutton's OSU staff then was a name you will recognize.

Bill Self (now head man at Kansas) had moved on and become head coach at Oral Roberts when he hired the 24-year-old Scott Sutton as an administrative assistant.

That got Scott's foot in the coaching door. Seven years ago, at the tender age of 28, he became head coach at Oral Roberts.

He went a combined 23-36 in his first two years, but has now had five straight winning years with back-to-back 20-win seasons.

If ESPN Bracketology is right, Sutton's Golden Eagles won't be around the NCAAs long. ORU is projected as a No. 16 seed opposite No. 1 Memphis by the Worldwide Leader.

For Scott Sutton, just getting into the NCAA tourney as a head coach is carrying on the family tradition. Even if time travelers may be surprised at which Sutton boy got there first.

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http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sp ... 078931.htm

[Texasgrip]

If ESPN Bracketology is right, Sutton's Golden Eagles won't be around the NCAAs long. ORU is projected as a No. 16 seed opposite No. 1 Memphis by the Worldwide Leader.

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http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sp ... 078931.htm

Let ESPN and Kentucky think that as long as they want...