STILLWATER, Okla. -- Two victories shy of his 800th win,
Eddie Sutton decided it was time to leave college basketball and
let his son coach Oklahoma State.
The 70-year-old coach retired Friday, ending a 36-year career in
which he made three trips to the Final Four and became the first
coach to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament.
He had considered returning to Oklahoma State after a Feb. 10
car accident that led to no contest pleas to drunken driving and
other charges.
"This decision is about simply what's best for me and what's
best for the basketball program at Oklahoma State," Sutton said at
a news conference.
His retirement takes effect June 30. He will be succeeded by
Sean Sutton, who was an assistant on his father's coaching staff
and had taken the job on an interim basis.
Eddie Sutton plans to work in a new alcohol education and
support program at the university.
"People today in our country know a lot more about alcoholism,
but there's still people that don't know what the disease is, how
it affects someone as a person," he said. "It's really slow
suicide if you drink."
Sutton had a 798-315 career record at Creighton, Arkansas,
Kentucky and Oklahoma State. He reached the Final Four with
Arkansas in 1978 and with Oklahoma State in 1995 and 2004.
Only Dean Smith (879), Adolph Rupp (876), Bob Knight (869) and
Jim Phelan (830) have more career wins among men's NCAA coaches.
"It is now time for us to come together as a family again and
support a new era in Cowboy basketball," he said. "If given your
support, I believe Sean can take this program to even greater
heights. He has the tools, knowledge and experience. I believe Sean
can take this program all the way to the top."
Sutton started this season needing 19 wins for No. 800 and said
he likely would retire at the end of the season even if he didn't
reach that mark.
After the Feb. 10 accident, Sean Sutton took over while Sutton
was on a medical leave and picked up four wins on his father's
behalf but fell two short of 800.
"I always thought it would be neat to be one of the coaches to
win 800," Eddie Sutton said. "But I thought it was wrong in that
if I retired after those two games it really puts more pressure on
Sean."
Sutton played for longtime Oklahoma A&M coach Henry Iba and his
name is emblazoned on the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena. With a
staunch defense inspired by Iba, Sutton took his teams to the NCAA
tournament 26 times. Only Knight, Smith and Arizona's Lute Olson
went more frequently.
Kansas coach Bill Self, once an assistant under Sutton, lauded
what he called a Hall of Fame career.
"He is one of the very, very few coaches out there who has
withstood the test of time and achieved success at the highest
level over several decades," Self said.
He had a losing record only once -- the 1988-89 season at
Kentucky that ended with his resignation amid an NCAA
investigation.
He arrived at his alma mater the following year, proclaiming he
had beaten alcoholism with help from treatment at the Betty Ford
Center. He soon resurrected an Oklahoma State program that had been
to the NCAAs only once in the previous 25 years. He guided the
Cowboys to the NCAA tournament each of the next five years,
culminating with their Final Four berth in 1995.
Amid a run of eight straight NCAA Tournament bids, tragedy
struck Oklahoma State when a plane crashed on its way back from a
game at Colorado. Sutton said he stops each day at a kneeling
cowboy statue at Gallagher-Iba, a memorial to the victims.
Three years later, Sutton led the Cowboys to the Final Four
again. Sutton often found players who, like him, needed a second
chance. John Lucas III, seeking a new home after a Baylor teammate
was killed, made the shot that lifted the Cowboys to the national
semifinals. Spurned by North Carolina because of marijuana charges,
JamesOn Curry also landed at Oklahoma State.
Following the February accident, Sutton said chronic back and
hip pain led to a relapse in his fight against alcoholism dating to
his days as Kentucky's coach. Court records showed his blood
alcohol level was 0.22, almost three times the legal limit. Since
the accident, Sutton had back surgery and underwent alcoholism
treatment.
He pleaded no contest to charges of aggravated DUI, speeding and
driving on the wrong side of the road and received a one-year
deferred sentence and was ordered to pay a fine.
His son inherits a team with a strong recruiting class entering
its sophomore season. All eight of the team's top scorers will
return to try to stretch the school's longest streak of consecutive
postseason tournament appearances to 10.
"He seems really happy, relaxed, really comfortable," Sean
Sutton said. "I think he's looking forward to turning the page and
starting a new chapter in his life."