Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
BREAKDOWN of Sutton’s coaching tree.
m Eddie Sutton’s coaching tree includes 26 former assistant coaches, players and a team manager who went on to become NCAA Division I or NBA head coaches. Some both played for him and were his assistant coaches.
Nineteen of the coaches on this list have taken teams to the NCAA Tournament at the Division I and II levels. One former assistant coach was an NBA coach of the year.
Here’s a rundown:
BILL SELF
Kansas head coach . ... Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee . ... Led Kansas to the 2008 national championship . ... His teams at Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas have made a combined 21 NCAA Tournament appearances . ... Has a 706-214 record in 27 seasons . ... Two-time AP national coach of the year, and six-time Big 12 coach of the year . ... Sutton assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
GENE KEADY
Led Western Kentucky and Purdue to a 550-270 record in 27 seasons with 18 NCAA Tournament appearances . ... Twice led Purdue to Elite 8 appearances . ... AP national coach of the year in 1996 . .... Six-time Big Ten coach of the year in 25 seasons with the Boilermakers . ... Sutton assistant coach at Arkansas.
LEONARD HAMILTON
Florida State head coach . ... Has a 582431 record at Oklahoma State, Miami and FSU with 10 NCAA appearances. ... Twice Big East coach of the year, and three-time ACC coach of the year ... NBA head coach for one season with Washington Wizards . ... Sutton assistant coach at Kentucky.
PAT FOSTER
Led Lamar, Houston and Nevada to a 366-203 record in 19 seasons with 5 NCAA Tournament appearances . ... Led teams to championships in the Southland Conference, Southwest Conference and Big West . ... Emerson native played at Arkansas and was a Sutton assistant with the Razorbacks.
JAMES DICKEY
Had a 232-186 record in 14 seasons at Texas Tech and Houston . ... Led Texas Tech to 3 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet 16 in 1996 when the Red Raiders were 30-2 . ... Valley Springs native who played at Central Arkansas and was a Sutton assistant coach at Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State.
ROB EVANS
Had a 205-201 record in 14 seasons at Ole Miss and Arizona State . ... Led Ole Miss to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 1997 and 1998 . ... SEC coach of the year in 1997 . ... Sutton assistant coach at Oklahoma State . ... Arkansas assistant coach for John Pelphrey.
SCOTT SUTTON
Oklahoma State assistant coach . ... Led Oral Roberts University to a 328247 record in 18 seasons with 3 NCAA Tournament appearances . ... Three-time Summit League coach of the year . ... Played for his father at Oklahoma State.
SEAN SUTTON
Member of the Texas Tech staff as a special adviser to Coach Chris Beard. ... Longtime Oklahoma State assistant coach who succeeded his father as the Cowboys’ head coach, going 39-29 in two seasons . ... Played for his father as a point guard at Kentucky and Oklahoma State.
DARRELL WALKER
University of Arkansas at Little Rock head coach . ... Led Trojans to a 21-10 record last season and the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship . ... All-America guard for Sutton at Arkansas who played 10 seasons in the NBA . ... NBA head coach with Toronto and Washington . ... Led Clark Atlanta University to a 45-18 record in two seasons and back-to-back NCAA Division II Tournament appearances . ... 31-31 in two seasons at UALR.
JOHN PELPHREY
Tennessee Tech head coach . ... Has 158-148 record in 10 seasons at South Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee Tech, with 2 NCAA Tournament appearances. ... Was 69-59 in four seasons at Arkansas with an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 . ... Played for Sutton at Kentucky, and was an assistant coach for him at Oklahoma State.
DOC SADLER
Assistant coach at Nebraska, where he previously was the head coach . ... Led Texas El-Paso, Nebraska and Southern Mississippi to a 205-261 record in 13 seasons with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance . ... Greenwood native was a team manager for Sutton at Arkansas.
JIMMY DYKES
College basketball analyst for ESPN . ... Led the UA women’s team to a 43-49 record in 3 seasons with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance . ... Walk-on player at Arkansas for Sutton, and an assistant coach for him at Kentucky.
BILL BROWN
Led Sacramento State, Kenyon College and California University of Pennsylvania to a 490-337 record in 30 seasons . ... Led Kenyon College, an NCAA Division III school in Ohio, to 2 NCAA Tournament appearances, and California University of Pennsylvania to 6 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances . ... Retired from coaching after the 2015-16 season. ... Sutton assistant coach at Arkansas.
COREY WILLIAMS
Arkansas assistant coach . ... Had a 58133 record in 6 seasons at Stetson . ... Played for Sutton at Oklahoma State and also was a student assistant coach for him with the Cowboys . ... Rookie guard on the Chicago Bulls’ 1993 NBA championship team.
FRED TRENKLE
Led San Diego State to a 55-83 record in 5 seasons . ... Had 329-36 record, including a 137-game winning streak, as a junior college coach at Southern Idaho. ... Played for Sutton at Southern Idaho, and was an assistant for him at Arkansas.
TOM APKE
Led Creighton, Colorado and Appalachian State to a 318-292 record in 22 seasons. ... Creighton assistant for Sutton who succeeded him as the Blue Jays’ coach when Sutton left for Arkansas . ... Led Creighton to 3 NCAA Tournament appearances.
DWANE CASEY
Head coach of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. ... Has a 434-394 record in 11 seasons as NBA head coach with Minnesota, Toronto and Detroit with 6 playoff appearances. ... NBA coach of the year with Toronto in 2018 . ... Sutton assistant coach at Kentucky.
TIM JANKOVICH
SMU head coach . ... Has a 90-46 record at North Texas, Illinois State and SMU with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance. ... Sutton assistant at Oklahoma State.
BROOKS THOMPSON
Led Texas-San Antonio to a 130-176 record in 10 seasons with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance . ... Died after the 2015-16 season at age 45 from double organ failure and a blood infection . ... Sutton player and assistant coach at Oklahoma State . ... Played in the NBA for four seasons.
KYLE KELLER
Stephen F. Austin head coach . ... Has 88-41 record in 4 seasons with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance . ... The Lumberjacks were 28-3 last season, including a victory at Duke . ... Sutton assistant coach at Oklahoma State.
SEAN WOODS
Southern University head coach . ... Has a 151-190 record in 11 seasons at Mississippi Valley State, Morehead State and Southern with 1 NCAA Tournament appearance . ... Played for Sutton at Kentucky.
BOB GOTTLIEB
Had a 97-91 record in seven seasons at Jacksonville (Fla.) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee . ... Led Jacksonville to the NIT semifinals in 1974 . ... Creighton assistant coach for Sutton . ... Died in 2014. ... Son Doug Gottlieb played for Sutton at Oklahoma State.
RUSS PENNELL
Had a 143-174 record in 11 seasons at Arizona, Grand Canyon and UCA . ... Led Arizona to a 21-14 record and the NCAA Tournament as the Wildcats’ interim coach during the 2008-09 season after Lute Olson resigned for health reasons . ... After going 72-44 at Division II Grand Canyon, Pennell was 50-116 at UCA . ... He was an assistant coach for Sutton at Oklahoma State . ... A walk-on player at Arkansas for Sutton, then transferred to UCA, where he became a starting point guard.
TONY BROWN
Assistant coach in the NBA for the Washington Wizards . ... Became interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets during the 2015-16 season after Lionel Hollins was fired . ... Played for Sutton at Arkansas.
BOB CLEELAND
Led Missouri State to a 39-46 record in 4 seasons . ... Sutton assistant coach at Arkansas . ... Died in 2014.
PAUL GRAHAM
Had a 31-79 record in four seasons at Washington State . ... Sutton assistant coach at Oklahoma State.