STILLWATER, OKLA. ? Oklahoma State, coming off its second Final Four appearance under coach Eddie Sutton, announced Wednesday that a member of the Sutton family would be coaching the Cowboys for years to come.

Oklahoma State said associate head coach Sean Sutton would become the Cowboys’ next coach when his father decides to retire.

“I’ve prepared my whole life to be in this moment,” Sean Sutton said, “and I will do my best to try to make it work.”

Athletic director Harry Birdwell said it was important for the Cowboys to lock up Sutton so he didn’t get away.

He also said it would prevent other schools from negative recruiting against Oklahoma State for what might be perceived as an uncertain coaching situation.

“I think negatively recruiting against us will come to a screeching halt when people know that there will be a logical transition whenever it occurs, and that it’ll be another Sutton equally able on our bench,” Birdwell said.

Sean Sutton has been with his father for most of his basketball development. He has been on his father’s coaching staff at Oklahoma State for 11 seasons and was named associate head coach in 2000. Sutton, 35, also played two years under his father at Kentucky and two more years after both came to Oklahoma State in 1990.

His only year away was in 1993 when he served as an assistant coach at Mississippi.

Sean Sutton provides much of the offense to go with the gritty defense Eddie Sutton learned while playing for legendary coach Henry Iba that his teams are best known for. Sean Sutton said he handles most of the offensive play-calling already.

“If the truth were known, he probably has coached more the last five to six years than I have,” Eddie Sutton said.

“If I hadn’t had Sean here, believe me, I would have retired long before now.”

The job will be Sean Sutton’s first as a head coach at any level, but Eddie Sutton gave examples of other coaches who excelled in their first head coaching job, including Dean Smith at North Carolina, Roy Williams, whose first job was at Kansas, and Tom Izzo at Michigan State.

It’s uncertain exactly when Eddie Sutton might retire.

“I want him to coach as long as he wants to coach,” Sean Sutton said, “he deserves that.”

Eddie Sutton, who has a 755-292 career record, has said he would like to reach the 800-win mark before retiring — an accomplishment that would take him at least two more years.

Sean Sutton also said he would like to see his father have another chance to win a national championship.

Sutton, 68, has taken the Cowboys to a postseason tournament in 13 of his 14 seasons at Oklahoma State and won 20 or more games 12 of those years.