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Coach Sean Sutton Resigns from Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State basketball coach, Sean Sutton resigned under pressure Tuesday, after a 17-16 season.
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April 2, 2008 (FPRC) -- Athletic Director, Mike Holder and Oklahoma State basketball coach, Sean Sutton met on Monday to discuss the state of the program, just 2 weeks after Sutton finished his 2nd season. Holder described the situation as a sad day for the university. Holder and Sutton agreed on the decision as the search for a replacement begins.
Sutton was his father's assistant before taking the top job. After the Cowboys lost 6 games in a row, he had been under scrutiny for most of the 2nd half of the season. That was the team's worst record in over 20 years.
Sutton was quoted saying that coaching Oklahoma State was a great experience for him. He was less than halfway through a 5 year, $750,000 per year contract when he was still an assistant on his father's staff, making him the head coach designate. This would have meant him taking over when his father left.
The Cowboys started 1-6 in Big 12 Conference play. They ended up winning 5 consecutive games, including an upset of Kansas. However, Oklahoma State lost its last 2 regular season games, ending 7-9 in league play. They defeated Texas Tech and lost to Texas in the Big 12 tournament before they lost to 69-53 at Southern Illinois in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament. It was the 3rd consecutive year that the Cowboys lost a first round NIT game.
Sutton was 39-29 in 2 years. However, his relationship with the team goes back a lot longer. After leaving Kentucky, he played on his father's Oklahoma State teams for 2 years and then served as an assistant for 13 years, including 2 Final Four appearances. Now both Suttons are out of the picture.
The contributions that Sean Sutton made shouldn't be overlooked, making his way from a player to assistant coach and then ultimately to head coach. Both Sutton and his father revived OSU basketball and made the team a consistent contender for conference, tournament and national championships.
Before Eddie Sutton took over, Oklahoma State had made the NCAA tournament only once in the previous 25 years. Sean Sutton first served as the head coach of the Cowboys for the final 10 games of the 2005-06 season when his father took a leave of absence after a DWI accident. The team went 4-6 in those games and Sean Sutton was given the opportunity to coach the team when his father retired that year.
The Cowboys got off to a good start in Sean Sutton's first full season as coach. They got as high as Number 9 before losing Obi Muonelo to a leg injury. Oklahoma State was defeated bt Marist in the first round of the NIT, completing a 22-13 season. JamesOn Curry left his senior year to go into the NBA. Things went downhill from there. Three players were arrested and Kenny Cooper decided to transfer.
Things were tough on the court as well. They were defeated by North Texas and Oral Roberts in non-conference play and the slow start in league play. The Cowboys have made the postseason each of the last 11 years, including a run of 7 consecutive NCAA tournament berths that preceded the NIT streak.
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Keywords:
basketball, NCAA, tournament
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