Eddie Sutton is back at the NCAA tournament – not as a coach this time, but as a very interested fan.
Sutton is in Denver to watch his son, Scott, lead Oral Roberts in its first-round game against Pittsburgh on Thursday.
The 71-year-old Eddie Sutton took the coaching job at the University of San Francisco in the middle of this season and surpassed the 800-win mark for his career. He is not expected to return to the Dons next season.
“It was an interesting experience in that we got there in the middle of the year and it took us a while to get everything going in the right direction,” the elder Sutton said. “We had one player that probably could play in the Big 12.”
The patriarch of a coaching family that also includes Sean, who took over at Oklahoma State after Eddie retired in 2006, said he’s here only as a spectator, trying to stay out of the way.
Scott Sutton said the advice his father offers always is appreciated. Eddie Sutton coached the Cowboys to a 63-51 victory over Pitt in the 2004 regional semifinals.
“We talk almost every day, we talk at length, he’ll suggest some things,” Scott Sutton said. “Obviously he’s one of the best. Should be in the Hall of Fame.”
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MEMORIES: Marquette and Kentucky will meet for the 10th time in the NCAAs, making it the most common matchup in tourney history. The schools play Thursday in Anaheim, Calif.
The teams have different memories of their most recent NCAA game, in the 2003 Midwest Regional final. The Golden Eagles defeated the top-seeded Wildcats 83-69, ending Kentucky’s 26-game win streak.
“I kind of remember it,” Kentucky senior Joe Crawford said. “Dwyane Wade (of Marquette) kind of put on a show. That was just kind of the story.”
Marquette junior guard Dominic James has a clearer memory. He grew up in Richmond, Ind., and hadn’t thought much about playing for Marquette until he watched that game.
“That’s probably the first time I really heard of Marquette,” he said. “I feel like that’s the first time Marquette became a household name to the entire country.”
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M, where he coached before leaving for Lexington last year. The Wildcats and Aggies are in different regions but open the tournament Thursday in the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Gillispie recruited many of the Aggies, but he won’t be hanging out with them this week in Southern California.
“I hope nothing but the best for them and have great relationships with a lot of the folks there, including a lot of players,” he said. “But you can’t speak with the players because you would be breaking NCAA rules. So unfortunately that’s a rule I wish we could get changed.”
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