Sean Sutton Out as OSU Basketball Coach
April 1, 2008
No, it’s not an April fools joke. Mike Holder, Oklahoma State’s vice president of athletics, announced today that he and head coach Sean Sutton have reached a mutual agreement for Sutton to resign effective immediately.
Sutton, who has been at OSU for 17 years as a player, assistant coach or head coach, was a part of 387 wins during his career at OSU. As a head coach, he was 39-29 in two years.
Although the official word out of Stillwater is that this was a resignation, the truth is Sutton was forced out of his job. After starting out 15-1 in his first full year (2006-2007) as head coach, the Cowboys stumbled the rest of the year missing the NCAA Tournament.
This past season started out about the same as the previous year ended. Although the Pokes finished strong down the stretch, it was not enough to overcome their slow start and they once again missed the NCAA Tournament. This was the third consecutive NIT appearance for the program, which made 13 of the previous 15 NCAA Tournaments prior to Sean Sutton taking over for his legendary father Eddie Sutton.
Was it fair for Holder and the OSU athletic department to get rid of Sutton after two short years? Probably not.
Was it a good decision? Probably so.
A once proud program was floundering under Sutton. Several high profile players were either kicked off the team, quit the team or transferred out. Attendance to OSU home games was at an all-time low (since the arena was remodeled).
The fact is Sutton was not only a head coach for two years, he was part of the program for 15 years prior to that. He served as his father’s number one assistant and ran the program day-to-day operations for several years prior to being named head coach. He also served as head coach designate for a year prior to being named head coach.
In the end, it was time for something new in the OSU basketball. Sutton is a good coach and will most likely prove himself somewhere else. The Cowboys can now try to bring in someone else and build on the tradition built by the Sutton family.
Savage Named Big 12 Player of the Week
October 16, 2007
Oklahoma State senior running back Dantrell Savage has been named as the Big 12 Conference offensive player of the week the league office announced Monday.
Savage, a native of Columbus, Ga., ran for a career-best 212 yards Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma State’s 45-14 win at Nebraska. In the decisive first half in which OSU outscored the Huskers 38-0, Savage rushed for 148 yards on just 16 carries for an average of 9.2 yards per attempt. His afternoon also included a 30-yard touchdown run in the second half, and a 10-yard reception.
Savage is the Big 12 Conference’s leading rusher with 150 yards per conference game. His season average of 124 yards per game would make him the ninth leading rusher in the country if he had played enough games to qualify for the NCAA statistics report.
Savage will become eligible for NCAA statistical listing by playing in one more game. The effort at Nebraska marked the ninth 100-yard effort for Savage in his last 11 games and his fourth straight game over 100 yards since returning from an injury that forced him to miss OSU’s games against Florida Atlantic and Troy and limited him to just 10 carries in the season opener at Georgia.
For the season, Savage leads OSU with 622 rushing yards. He has also caught 10 passes for 80 yards and he completed a touchdown pass at Texas A&M in his only passing attempt of the season. Savage is the first Oklahoma State player honored as a Big 12 player of the week in 2007.