Eddie Sutton, who was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 4, died Saturday at his home in Tulsa at 84.
Oklahoma State University's athletic department made the announcement on the OSU homepage Saturday night. Sutton compiled a 368-151 mark in 16 seasons as head coach at OSU and an 806-329 record in 37 seasons overall as a college basketball coach.
The Sutton family confirmed the reports of the death of Sutton, one of Kansas coach Bill Self's closest mentors, in a statement sent to the Tulsa World and other outlets.
"Our beloved Dad and Papa Coach Eddie Sutton passed away peacefully of natural causes the evening of May 23rd at his home in South Tulsa. He was surrounded by his three sons and their families, which include his nine adoring grandchildren. He is reunited with his No. 1 assistant _ his bride Patsy Sutton _ who passed away in January of 2013 after 54 years of marriage," the statement began.
"Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court. He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support from their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.
"He felt his recent Hall of Fame (election) was an honor and a tribute to the great players he coached and outstanding assistant coaches that worked for him.
"We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy. A memorial service for the public will be planned at the appropriate time."
KU coach Self worked for Sutton at OSU from 1991 to '93. He spoke about Sutton after KU's victory over OSU last season in Stillwater, Okla.
"This is one thing I always thought about Mr. Iba (Henry, legendary OSU coach). I always thought Mr. Iba was taken for granted so much in this area because everyone was always so comfortable around him because they saw him around all the time," Self said. "When you see someone all the time, sometimes maybe you take for granted the magnitude, the role they played in making our game what it is. Bob Knight said, 'Of all the shadows that have been cast, his is the biggest on our game ever.'
""I feel the same thing about coach (Sutton)," Self added. "He's been around, everybody knows of coach, he's around a lot ... all those things sometimes people can take for granted the magnitude he's had on our game. Hopefully he'll be elected into the Hall this year which he richly deserves. He's an amazing coach. I spent three years with him. Things we do every day are things he taught us and taught me. I like to make coach (Larry) Brown proud, Leonard (Hamilton) proud and certainly coach Sutton proud by them watching my teams play. He's pretty awesome."
Self offered a heartfelt statement after the announcement that Bucklin, Kansas native Sutton had been elected into the Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2020:
"I want to be one of the thousands that offer our sincere congratulations to coach Eddie Sutton for his induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame," Self said.
"It is certainly an honor that is richly deserved, one that is long overdue."
Self then personally addressed Sutton, saying: "Certainly anybody that has played for you and/or coached under you knew you are a Hall of Famer several decades ago. Coach, we are so happy for you and I know there are so many players that you have touched, coaches that you have touched (that) are celebrating tonight in a very very difficult time in everybody's life. You brought so much joy to so many. We can't thank you enough. Congratulations, you deserve this."
Sutton was the first coach to take four different college teams to the NCAA Tournament: OSU, Kentucky, Arkansas and Creighton. Sutton coached three Final Four teams _ in 1978 at Arkansas and 1995 and 2004 at Oklahoma State.
"Look at Creighton, an NCAA Tournament when they weren't used to that," Self, an OSU grad, said in a recent interview. "Look at Arkansas: The elite program in the Southwest Conference. Look at Kentucky: First year, (Sutton is 32-4) with great players. Look at Oklahoma State: He had really good players and went to two Final Fours. In my opinion, he's a Hall of Fame coach. I don't know what can be said to convince a panel of people."
Self told The Tulsa World: "If you beat an Eddie Sutton-coached team, you had to beat them. They weren't going to give it to you. I learned a lot of defensive philosophy from him. Certainly, he was a tremendous mentor."
Sutton ranks 11th all-time with 806 career coaching victories. He is an eight-time conference coach of the year and a two-time winner of the Associated Press National Coach of the Year award (1978, 1986).
Sutton entered the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. He led Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and his alma mater, OSU, to a combined 26 NCAA Tournament appearances. In 37 seasons of Division I coaching, Sutton won 17 conference regular-season and tournament championships.
At Oklahoma State, Sutton coached seven All-Americans, 52 all-conference Cowboys, five Big Eight/Big 12 Players of the Year and nine NBA Draft picks. Bryant Reeves, Desmond Mason, John Lucas III and Joey Graham all became All-Americans under Sutton.
