Eddie Sutton, Famous Basketball Coach, Dies at 84

Eddie Sutton is a former American college coach who was born in Bucklin, Kansas, on March 12, 1936 and died May 23, 2020, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He started his career as a player (college basketball) at Oklahoma State, under Hall of Fame coach Henry Iba from 1955 to 1958, and then started his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Henry Iba in 1958.

The Hall of fame basketball coach got his head coaching job at Creighton (NCAA level) in 1969 after a successful head coach at Tulsa Central High School and the College of Southern Idaho. He led Arkansas from 1974 to 1985, Kentucky from 1985 to 1989 and Oklahoma State from 1990 to 2006.

Sutton took four schools to the NCAA Final four and had more than 800 career wins during his college coaching career. He earned his 800th win at San Francisco as an interim coach in 2007-2008.

Sutton made impacts everywhere he worked. At Arkansas, the practice gym was named after him, and the governor of Arkansas for part of Sutton’s tenure as the coach, Former President Bill Clinton sent a video message for a ceremony in honour of Sutton at Arkansas in 2016.

“Your time as the coach was a defining era in Razorback basketball,” Clinton said. “You put our program on the map. You helped mould a generation of student-athletes into winners on the court and after they left. You made us think we could win again.”

Eddie Sutton was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of fame in 2011, and he was eager to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He couldn’t be patient enough to make it to the ceremony, until he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 3, 2020.

The coach, aged 84 years, died of natural causes at home and was survived by his three sons and their families. While, his wife, Pasty, died in 2003.

“Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court,” the family wrote. “He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support of their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.”

Former Kentucky star Rex Chapman in a tweet appreciated his time under Sutton:

Joe Castiglione paid his respect for Sutton in a tweet also:

Burns Hargis, Oklahoma State president, in a statement, said, “Oklahoma State University is deeply saddened by the passing of Coach Eddie Sutton. A Hall of Fame Coach with more than 800 wins, he revived our historic basketball program and will always be revered and loved by the Cowboy family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Sutton family.”