Scott Andrew Sutton (born June 3, 1970) is an American
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach, currently an assistant coach at
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
. He was formerly the head coach at
Oral Roberts
Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christianity, Christian televangelist, ordained in both the International Pentecostal Holiness Church, Pentecostal Holin ...
, and is the all-time wins leader in school history while leading ORU to three NCAA Tournament, two National Invitational Tournament and two CollegeInsider.com Tournament postseason appearances in 14 seasons. The Golden Eagles had won 20 or more games in seven of the past 10 seasons.
Scott is the youngest son of college basketball coach
Eddie Sutton
Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State) and was a head coach at the high school, junio ...
. One of Scott's brothers is
Sean Sutton
Sean Patrick Sutton (born October 4, 1968) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the advisor to the head men's basketball coach at Texas Tech University. Sutton served as the head men's basketball coach Oklahoma State Univers ...
, the former head coach of Oklahoma State, and currently an advisor to Mark Adams at
Texas Tech
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
.
Sutton is the second ORU coach since
Ken Trickey
Kenneth Franklin Trickey Sr. (August 30, 1933"Ken Trickey" ''
Bill Self
Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, a position he has held since 2003. During his 19 seasons as head coach, he has led the Jayhawks to ...
Sutton's coaching career started when he was hired as an administrative assistant by former ORU head coach
Bill Self
Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, a position he has held since 2003. During his 19 seasons as head coach, he has led the Jayhawks to ...
prior to the 1995–96 season. Sutton served on Self's staff from 1995–1997 and Barry Hinson's staff from 1997–1999. In those four seasons, ORU posted a 75–39 (.658) record.
Oral Roberts – head coach
Scott was named the 11th head coach in ORU history on May 6, 1999. In 14 seasons at ORU, Sutton is 270–177 (.604). Since the start of the 2001–02 season, Sutton has guided the Golden Eagles to a 247–141 (.637) mark. During that same span, ORU has finished either first or second in the conference standings nine times. Not did the Golden Eagles averaged 19.3 wins annually in Sutton's 14 seasons, but over the last nine years that figure grew to 21.7 victories per season. Sutton guided ORU to seven 20-win seasons, five Summit League regular-season titles, three tournament championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances, two NIT trips and two visits to the CIT. During Sutton's tenure, ORU has defeated Arkansas, Georgetown, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis, Seton Hall, South Florida, Southern Cal, Stanford, Texas Tech, Utah, Wichita State and Xavier.
In 14 seasons at the reins, Sutton produced two All-Americans ( Caleb Green and Dominique Morrison), an NBA player (
Larry Owens
Larry Owens (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for Yavapai College and Oral Roberts University.
College career Yavapai College (2001–2003)
Owens averaged 22.7 points and 10.6 reb ...
), five Freshman All-Americans, 27 all-conference selections, four conference players of the year, four conference newcomers of the year, three conference sixth man of the year picks, and two conference defensive players of the year.
Sutton said he was comfortable and happy at ORU. He told the ''Tulsa World'' in May 2012 that "it would take something very special. I'd never say never. However, I'm not out there chasing jobs. I'm not chasing the money."
On April 10, 2017, Oral Roberts dismissed Sutton after finishing the season 9-22 and last in their conference, which was the worst record in the 18 years he coached at ORU.
Oklahoma State – assistant coach
On October 22, 2017, Sutton returned to Oklahoma State as an assistant coach, replacing Lamont Evans, who was suspended and eventually fired due to the latter's involvement in the NCAA men's basketball corruption scandal.
Honors and awards
Sutton became the all-time wins leader at ORU with an 81–73 win over North Dakota State on February 5, 2011. The win gave Sutton 215 wins as the head coach of the Golden Eagles. ORU's previous leader was Ken Trickey, with 214 wins over 11 seasons (1969–74, 1987–93).
Sutton has been crowned conference coach of the year three times in his career: 2002, 2008 and 2012.
In 2007, Sutton was one of four finalists for the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award, presented annually by Chip Hilton Sports and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Sutton was a finalist along with
Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
of Washington State,
Bo Ryan
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan se ...
of Wisconsin, and
John Thompson III
John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Wa ...
of Georgetown. Bennett was the eventual recipient of the award.
Sutton was tabbed by the National Association of Basketball Coaches as the District 12 Co-Coach of the Year in 2005.ORU Media Relations "Sutton Named NABC District 12 Co-Coach of the Year " ''ORUGoldenEagles.com'', March 22, 2005.
Personal life
Sutton was born June 3, 1970, in Omaha, Nebraska. He later attended
Henry Clay High School
Henry Clay High School is an American public high school in Lexington, Kentucky. Opened on Main Street in 1928, it was named in honor of the Kentuckian and United States statesman, Henry Clay. The Main Street location now houses the main offices ...
in Lexington, Kentucky. Growing up as the youngest son of a legendary coach, Sutton had the opportunity to play for his father at Oklahoma State from 1992–94, helping the Cowboys reach the NCAA Tournament both seasons.
Sutton and his wife, Kim, are the parents of three daughters.