Scott Andrew Sutton (born June 3, 1970) is an American
college basketball
College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
coach, currently an assistant coach at
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
. 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, who was one of the first to propagate Prosperity theology, Prosperity Gospel Theo ...
, 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 Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
. One of Scott's brothers is Sean Sutton, the former head coach of Oklahoma State.
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 who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...
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 who is the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Self has held various coaching roles at the collegiate level an ...
prior to the 1995–96 season. Sutton served on Self's staff from 1995–1997 and
Barry Hinson
Barry Douglas Hinson (born May 12, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and most recently was the head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team (SIU). He was born in Marlow, Oklahoma. Before SIU he was the Director o ...
'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. 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), 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 (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
of Washington State,
Bo Ryan
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball, Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team of the University of Wisconsin–Mad ...
of Wisconsin, and
John Thompson III
John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and executive who has been the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of ...
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 office ...
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.