Eddie Sutton, Hall of Fame basketball coach, dies at 84

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By CLIFF BRUNT

Eddie Sutton waited so long to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He couldn’t hang on long enough to make it to the ceremony.

The man who led three teams to the Final Four and was the first coach to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament, died Saturday. He was 84.

Sutton’s family said in a statement he died of natural causes at home in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area, surrounded by his three sons and their families. His wife, Patsy, died in 2013.

“Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court,” the family wrote. “He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support of their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.”



FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011, file photo, former Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, center, talks to fans during a ceremony honoring the 10th anniversary of the death of 10 members of the Oklahoma State basketball program in a plane crash, at halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between Oklahoma State and Texas in Stillwater, Okla. Sutton, the Hall of Fame basketball coach who led three teams to the Final Four and was the first coach to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament, died Saturday, May 23, 2020. He was 84. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/66f98233aa4f0e2e9a8ad561c26a0d90

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I remember how popular Eddie was when he coached at Creighton here in Omaha.

[paleotn]

1. Name for the past....

I remember him at Kentucky, where he got into all sorts of trouble. The UK basketball program barely avoided the "death penalty."
Great coach, no doubt in my mind, but with a checkered past. I've always wondered why guys like Sutton, Pitino and others, guys that are fantastic coaches end up breaking the rules so spectacularly. I understand pressure to win and unreasonable expectations from the fan base, but why go to such ends? No amount of invincibility would lead a rational person to believe they could get away with stuff so egregious. Well, I guess if you're going to cheat, you might as well go all out.

[Warren_Pointe]

2. He did lots of good things for the Arkansas Razorbacks

but he "crawled" away to Kentucky. He was instrumental in making the program what it was and might be again. He left and we got Coach Richardson. I'll take it.

[TomSlick]

3. Welcome to DU.

Are you in Bradley County?

[Warren_Pointe]

5. Thank you! It's good to be here.

No, I'm up in Pulaski county. North Little Rock to be specific.

How are things down there?

[TomSlick]

6. It's wet in Clark County. It seems to rain five days out of seven.

With your user name, I thought you might be in Warren.

[Warren_Pointe]

8. O I C

It's actually a place on the Northern Ireland border. A shout out to my kinfolk.

Has this been the wettest year ever or what? No flooding, but the time is coming, I'm sure.

[TomSlick]

11. Warrenpointe, County Down.

My family also came from Ulster - having been encouraged to move there from Scotland.

[Warren_Pointe]

13. That's interesting.

I think the early inhabitants of Scotland came from Ireland. So, kind of a homecoming.

In the late '70's, Warrenpoint was the scene of an IRA ambush of the British army.

[GulfCoast66]

7. I graduated from high school in NLR

Lived there from 76 till 84. Great place back then to grow up.

[Warren_Pointe]

9. I lived down Sherwood way most of my life.

Now i"m up in Park Hill. I love Dogtown; never lived south of the river.

Did you attend Old Main? You know, Northeast is now a middle school, junior high.

[GulfCoast66]

10. Northeast High School. Lived near McCain mall.

Was back in town for the first time in 16 years last June for a good friends mother’s Funeral in a church in Park Hill. Love that area.

It has really grown, that for sure.

[Warren_Pointe]

14. Gotcha

Not a lot has changed in Lakewood. Growing up, there was a lot more in Park Hill. But that was in the '70's. We used to have to drive up there from Sherwood to get fast food. McD's is now the comic book store. KFC a rental shop. Pizza Hut has been Schlotzkys for decades. It declined for a while, but now the sell beer and wine in the convenience stores and the is at least one restaurant with liquor by the drink and more on the way. It's mostly hair and nail salons up here now, but it's a very convenient area and hopefully will grow.

[GulfCoast66]

15. I always love the architecture of the old homes.

So much more distinctive than in Lakewood where I grew up.

Take care and stay safe.

[Warren_Pointe]

17. That's for sure.

You really have a mixed bag in Lakewood. Especially around the lakes. Carports, '50's modernism, some sprawling homes; there was a lot of variety available.

[Patterson]

16. I lived in Little Rock from 1976-1984 and worked most of that in NLR.

[GulfCoast66]

4. Shedding a tear here

I was a kid in Arkansas in the late 70’s. Sidney Moncrief and his other players were a great team. But ran up against teams with the likes of Bird and Magic and could not overcome the competition. Sutton was clean then.

Ironically I ended up at University of Kentucky right when Sutton arrived. He learned early on how dirty UK was then with Cliff Hagen as the AD. And they got busted big time. But Sutton was collateral damage. I talked to him a frat events a few times and I think he was then drinking his troubles away. He realized too late he had come into a dirty program. But he correctly managed to to not get too smeared. I’ll always believe he was the one, after realizing how bad things were then at UK that dropped the dime on them. That would explain why he never was sanctioned by the NCAA.

I will remember Brewer, Delph and super Sid at Arkansas all my life. There were some great teams. Their battles with Houston and Akeem were epic.

[JCMach1]

12. Was at OK State when he took them to final four

My ex-mother in law was a student aid for him when he coached HS in Tulsa

Stillwater is very small town and I once ate Valentine's dinner next to he and his wife.

Home games in Gallagher-Iba were very intimate from the student seats. You were right there with the coach and the team. He will be missed.