Sutton, ‘one of the great college coaches,’ finally gets Hall of Fame call
“One of the greatest coaches of all time.”
“Basketball genius.”
“A perfect coach.”
“Had a sixth sense.”
“One of the fathers of basketball.”
Albeit delayed, basketball brethren of Eddie Sutton saw justice done Saturday when the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame officially announced that the former Kentucky coach is in the 2020 class of inductees.
Besides Sutton, other inductees include the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Rudy Tomjanovich, Tamika Catchings, Barbara Stevens and Kim Mulkey. All eight finalists made the cut.
“My dad loved teaching the game of basketball,” Sutton’s son, Sean, said in remarks aired on ESPN on Saturday. “He had so much respect for the tradition of the game. He loved the relationships he built with his players and he’d be the first to tell you so much of the success of his career was due to the outstanding players he coached and the great assistant coaches he had on his staff.”
In a 2018 interview, Detroit Pistons head coach Dwane Casey, called Eddie Sutton “one of the great college coaches in the history of the game.”
Casey, who played for UK and later was an assistant on Sutton’s staff, spoke of Sutton’s commanding voice and feel for the game.
“Coach Sutton had a sixth sense,” Casey said. “I don’t know how you put an adjective on ‘it.’ But, he had ‘it.’ We’re imperfect people, but he was a perfect coach.”
Casey said players responded to Sutton’s commands.
“He didn’t necessarily have to have superstars,” Casey said. “He could take that middle-of-the-road talent and really get the best out of them. That’s why he had such success.”
In two other 2018 interviews, two superstars who played for Kentucky in the 1980s spoke highly of Sutton’s coaching ability.
“He’ll go down as one of the great college coaches of all time,” said Kenny Walker, a first-team All-American in his one season (1985-86) playing for Sutton. “I’d say outside of Hubie Brown, there’s no other coach I’d put above him, especially when it comes to man-to-man defense.”
Walker suggested that because the offense lacked pizzazz, Sutton is underrated as a coach.
“But, defense and knowing the game and knowing how to shut the opponent down, nobody did that better than Eddie Sutton,” Walker said. “He was the best I ever played for.”
Rex Chapman, who arrived at UK the season after Walker departed for an NBA career, echoed that sentiment.
“Nobody in the history of the game has taught one-on-one team defense like Eddie Sutton,” Chapman said.
A native of Bucklin, Kan., Sutton played for Hall of Fame coach Hank Iba at Oklahoma State (known as Oklahoma A&M until his senior year). He began his head coaching career in 1959 at Tulsa Central High School.
In 1966, Sutton founded the basketball program at the College of Southern Idaho. His first team had a record of 33-4. His three-season record was 84-14.
After five seasons at Creighton, Sutton led Arkansas to a record of 260-75 in 11 seasons. In that time, Arkansas expanded Barnhill Arena’s capacity from 5,200 to 9,000.
After four seasons as Kentucky coach, Sutton returned to his alma mater. Oklahoma State had played in only three NCAA Tournaments since 1957. In Sutton’s 16 seasons, the Cowboys played in the NCAA Tournament 13 times.
Sutton compiled a record of 806-326. He also became the first coach to lead four different programs to the NCAA Tournament: Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State.
Saturday’s announcement of the 2020 class of inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame marked the seventh time Sutton had been nominated for enshrinement.
“Very obviously what holds him back is what happened at UK,” said Doug Barnes, who was an assistant coach for Sutton at Kentucky.
Sutton’s four turbulent seasons as Kentucky coach included findings of NCAA rule-breaking, the program’s first losing record since 1927, UK being ordered to vacate Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships, Sutton’s forced resignation in 1989 and the memorable Sports Illustrated cover showing a UK player with his head bowed under the headline, “Kentucky’s Shame.”
“Probably the biggest mistake Coach Sutton made at UK was not understanding UK,” Barnes said.
Barnes said he remembered a holdover from former coach Joe B. Hall’s staff, Leonard Hamilton, advising Sutton on a number of occasions to be mindful of the scrutiny that comes with heading the Kentucky basketball program.
“Looking back, I think not understanding the scrutiny you get was probably his big downfall,” Barnes said of Sutton’s four seasons as Kentucky coach.
Christopher Hunt made a documentary on Sutton titled “EDDIE.” In it, he spoke to former President Bill Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas during part of Sutton’s time as Razorbacks’ coach.
“He was a basketball genius who understood human nature,” Clinton said in the documentary, “and believed in human possibilities.”
Hunt said he considered Sutton “one of the fathers of basketball.”
After many highs and the well-documented low at Kentucky, Sutton dealt with tragedy as Oklahoma State coach. On Jan. 27, 2001, a plane crashed returning from a game killing two players and six other people in the traveling party.
“I grew up loving that guy,” Hunt said. “He really inspired a state and a community, and made you believe you could win. And on top of that, he guided an entire community as they grieved.”
Hunt said Friday evening that he spoke with Sutton’s family after they received the news ahead of Saturday’s announcement.
“I know the family is very, very happy. I know fans here in Oklahoma and Arkansas and even on my Twitter timeline from Kentucky are quite thrilled for Coach (Sutton). It’s a tremendous honor. We’re all just really, really happy for him.”
Hunt couldn’t be with the family because of the coronavirus quarantine, but he said he did get to see a video.
“He got to hear the phone call and react to it,” Hunt said of Sutton, who has been limited in speech since suffering three strokes three years ago. “I would describe it as a family that was relieved, and a weight lifted off their shoulder.
“I think it’s hard for me to see Eddie there like that. But that’s just where he’s at right now. That’s part of life.
“I’ll be honest. There’s a part of me that’s still saddened that it took this long because I would have loved to hear him talk and be able to share this with people in more of a real way.”
A panel of 24 voters who were tasked to decide who merited selection for the Hall of Fame wound up choosing them all. Also headed to the Hall this year: former FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann, selected as a direct-elect by the international committee.
Bryant died in a helicopter crash on Jan. 26, about three weeks before the Hall of Fame said — as if there was going to be any doubt — that he was a finalist. Duncan and Garnett were also widely perceived to be locks to be part of this class; they were both 15-time NBA All-Stars, and Bryant was an 18-time selection.
“Obviously, we wish that he was here with us to celebrate,” Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife, said on the ESPN broadcast of the class announcement. “But it’s definitely the peak of his NBA career and every accomplishment that he had as an athlete was a steppingstone to be here. So we’re incredibly proud of him.”
Bryant was also a five-time champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, just as Duncan was with the San Antonio Spurs.
Garnett is the only player in NBA history with at least 25,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, 5,000 assists, 1,500 blocks and 1,500 steals. He also was part of Boston’s 2008 NBA title.
“This is an incredibly special class, for many reasons,” Hall of Fame chairman and enshrinee Jerry Colangelo said, according a report by the Associated Press.
Catchings was a 10-time WNBA All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist. Tomjanovich was a five-time All-Star as a player, guided Houston to back-to-back titles and took the 2000 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal.
Mulkey has three NCAA titles as a coach, won two others as a player and had Baylor in position to vie for another championship this season had the global coronavirus pandemic not forced the shutdown of virtually every sport around the globe. Stevens has coached for 43 years and is a five-time Division II coach of the year, and Baumann was one of the most powerful voices in international basketball until his death in 2018.
The enshrinement ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts, is scheduled for Aug. 29. Should the pandemic force a delay, there is a tentative plan for an October ceremony as well.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 9:19 PM.
