Self confident Sutton belongs in Hall of Fame
Coaches Jim Boeheim of Syracuse and Jim Calhoun of Connecticut are among 16 finalists considered for induction in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2005.
Missing from the list is a guy with more wins than either of the dandy Eastern coaches — veteran Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, who this season passed his mentor, Henry Iba, for seventh place on the Division One coaching wins list.
“I don’t know the exact policies, but I still totally anticipate him being a Hall of Famer before all is said and done,” Kansas University coach Bill Self said. “I don’t see how you can justify leaving him out when you look at what Coach has done over time.”
Sutton will take an all-time record of 775-296 into a 3 p.m. game Sunday against the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse.
The 68-year-old Sutton, who passed OSU legend Iba by winning game No. 768 on Jan. 15 against Iowa State at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., isn’t obsessed about making basketball’s Hall — which includes just 70 NBA and/or college coaches.
“If that comes someday, I’d be thrilled,” said Sutton, born and raised in Bucklin.
“If you look at college coaches in the Hall, what has happened in the last 20 years is the NBA has really got control of the Hall of Fame.
“Coach Chaney (John, of Temple) recently got in (in 2001). Both those guys (Boeheim and Calhoun) are very worthy,” Sutton said. “It’s something you have no control over. Maybe someday it’ll happen. If it doesn’t, it will not break my heart.”
Sutton already has received probably the greatest honor for a coach. After passing Iba on the all-time Cowboy win list, OSU officials announced the court at historic Gallagher-Iba would be known as “Eddie Sutton Court.”
Kansas University coach Bill Self, left, chats with Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton before a game last season. Self, shown Feb. 9, 2004, in Stillwater, Okla., thinks Sutton belongs in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“It means a great deal,” Sutton said. “It’s quite an honor. I was quite surprised, because I didn’t know it was going to happen.
“I would never have been able to go to college without a scholarship. Mr. Iba gave me a scholarship. These (past) 15 years (as head coach at OSU), it’s kind of been a way that I feel I’ve repaid a little bit of what OSU gave to me. Of course, I think having your name on the court is especially special because you’re in love with this school.”
Self, who worked on Sutton’s Cowpoke staff for three years before becoming head coach at Oral Roberts in 1994, said it was fitting Sutton had been recognized by OSU.
“I thought it was great they renamed the court for Coach,” Self said. “The cool thing is, they did it with his signature on it instead of block lettering. It actually is coach Sutton’s signature right on the court.
“I’m telling you, 768 wins is a lot of wins. It’s a remarkable accomplishment. He’s a great coach who has done an unbelievable amount of good at his alma mater.”
Self, whose Jayhawks are tied with Sutton’s Cowboys for first place in the Big 12 Conference, says there are no mixed emotions for Sunday.
6Sports video: Nebraska win gives KU confidence
Self confident Sutton belongs in Hall of Fame (02-25-05)
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“The bottom line is, I hope we finish first and they second. If we can’t win it any year I hope they do. I love my alma mater. I always will. Cindy (wife) and I spent 11 years there, worked there.
“I love my alma mater and all those things. But all my loyalties from a business standpoint lie in Lawrence. To win the league, we’re going to have to beat Oklahoma State.”
Sutton’s OSU teams are 0-10 at the Fieldhouse. He was 0-1 at Allen as coach at Kentucky, and 1-0 in Allen as coach at Arkansas.
“I will not intend to give him any presents,” Self said. “I’d love for him to win in Allen Fieldhouse. I just wish it occurred when I coached for him as opposed to against him.”
Self remembers visiting Stillwater for the KU-OSU game during the 1985-86 season when he was a graduate assistant on Larry Brown’s KU staff. Self had played the year before at OSU.
“My buddies at Oklahoma State were still there. We go to Stillwater, and Ron Kellogg on a free-throw blockout pushed an OSU guy in the back. He laid it in and there was no foul called. There were pushes and elbows and there became an altercation. I’m going to my buddies, ‘You can’t do that.’ I was fired up (for KU).
“These two schools have always had great respect for each other. I know coach Sutton always had great respect for Kansas. Number one, he grew up in Bucklin, and number two, Dr. (Phog) Allen coached there. Mr. Iba and Dr. Allen were competitors but very respectful. The unwritten rule is in this series is there is great respect.
“Some of the great matchups in the league in recent times have been when Oklahoma State and Kansas have played. They are hard-nosed teams, and both do it the right way. You think of good fans, we have those, Oklahoma State has those and they think that of Kansas fans.”
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Chalmers awed: KU signee Mario Chalmers of Anchorage, Alaska, on Wednesday became the third Alaskan behind Trajan Langdon and Carlos Boozer to be named to the McDonald’s All-America game.
“It’s just a great honor to be up there with them and to know I could possibly become a legend like Trajan and Carlos,” Chalmers told the Anchorage Times. “It’s going to be great, because it’s going to be on national TV, and I’m going to be playing with the best of the best.”