The New York Times-20080128-Another Chance for a Longtime Coach

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Another Chance for a Longtime Coach

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The story of how Eddie Sutton went from his home in Oklahoma to a hotel at Fisherman's Wharf involves a bottle and a big round number.

The number in question is 800, a milestone that Sutton found himself a mere two victories from when he resigned in May 2006 as the basketball coach at Oklahoma State. He had led the Cowboys' program for 16 years, reaching the Final Four twice, and has the fifth-most victories in N.C.A.A. Division I history.

The departure came three months after Sutton, a recovering alcoholic, was involved in a car accident after drinking, injuring himself and another driver. He took a leave of absence for the rest of the season, pleaded no contest to aggravated driving under the influence, and had seemed to fashion a ragged ending to an outstanding career.

And then, in December, the University of San Francisco called. It was having its own problems -- Coach Jessie Evans had taken an unexplained leave of absence -- and Athletic Director Debra Gore-Mann eventually asked Sutton, 71, if he wanted the interim job.

Sutton, who had never visited the campus, seen its gym, or met the team, says he had one concern.

I said: 'Just tell me, are they good people? Do they have character?' said Sutton, sitting in a bare-walled office where Evans's name still adorns the door. I said, 'I cannot coach hombres.' I said, 'I'll run them off.'

Sutton's sort of Oklahoma folksiness may seem out of place in San Francisco, a cosmopolitan city where political correctness is as common as fog. But since he accepted the job -- flying from Oklahoma directly to an away game -- the level of excitement has soared around this small Jesuit university. Attendance is way up, university officials say, with home crowds often dotted with Oklahoma State T-shirts.

I think people appreciate that there's a coaching legend on the sidelines, Gore-Mann said. And I think fans that may have drifted away are coming back to see what he can do.

And while Sutton acknowledges he would like to get to 800 wins, he said it was not the only reason for his return.

My sons pushed me, Sutton said. They said, 'Dad, the way you went out, that's not the way a coach should go out.' And so when given this opportunity, well, I hope I can help these young men become better basketball players, but at least it will give me an opportunity to end my career on my terms, rather than the way it ended at Oklahoma State.

Sutton, who also coached at Creighton, Arkansas and Kentucky, is behind only Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and Jim Phelan on the victories list.

Thus far at San Francisco, whose biggest claim to fame came when Bill Russell and K. C. Jones led the team to national championships in 1955 and 1956, Sutton's team has struggled. The Dons (5-14) have won one game since he arrived; he won No. 799 by beating Portland, 60-59, on Jan. 19. The team has lost six games under Sutton, including Saturday night at home, 79-57, to No. 24 St. Mary's. The next shot at the No. 800 comes Monday night when the Dons play Santa Clara, another West Coast Conference rival.

I don't know if I'm ever going to get 800 wins, Sutton said after the loss to St. Mary's, but I'm compiling a lot of losses.

Some players were surprised by Sutton's methods, including instituting two-a-day practices during the winter break. But forward Dior Lowhorn, a San Francisco native and the team's best offensive player, said the team had slowly come around to his methods.

I think everyone was kind of nervous and didn't know what to expect, said Lowhorn, who is averaging 20.5 points. But for a player like me, playing for a coach like him is right down my alley. I come to practice salivating.

Sutton's style alienated some fans and sports radio talk show hosts shortly after his hiring. He bluntly assessed the team as having the least amount of talent I've ever had to work with.

Sutton said he did not mean to offend. It was just true, he said.

I didn't mean that these are bad players, he said. But I told them also I was spoiled. I had a lot of thoroughbreds through the years, and those thoroughbreds make you a better coach. But I was just trying to be honest.

Honesty is a major theme for Sutton, whose struggles with alcohol landed him in rehab in 1987, and have been a challenge ever since. Since his accident in 2006, he has made a point of speaking to students about the dangers of addiction and is raising money for a treatment center at Oklahoma State.

His life in San Francisco is a far cry from his heyday in the Big 12. He has been living in a hotel in the city's tourist-happy Fisherman's Wharf district ever since that first game in Utah. His wife, three sons, and nine grandchildren have not visited yet, and he has not really done much but watch tape and run practice since getting here.

I haven't been to a really quality restaurant yet, he said. What's the name of that hamburger place, the famous hamburger place? In-N-Out Burger. I'd like to have one of those.

Still burdened by a bad back -- one of the reasons he cites for his alcoholic relapse -- Sutton moves slower than he used to, but he can still dial up the competitive fire. During the St. Mary's game, he growled at a couple of underperforming players and clapped heartily when one of his guards took a charge.

He strongly doubts he will be back next season, but says he enjoys not having to watch from the stands. When you sit up there, he said somewhat amazedly, you can't do anything but cheer.

And while he is losing more than winning, Sutton says he has been through worse.

I'm having fun, I really am, he said. And in another two weeks, I think we'll be a pretty good little team.

[Illustration]PHOTOS: Eddie Sutton, above, with his San Francisco players. When he was at Oklahoma State, Sutton's son Sean, left, was an assistant. Sean was one who pushed his father to get back into coaching after a drunken-driving case seemed to end his career. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY BILL WAUGH/THE OKLAHOMAN, VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS; DOUGLAS C. PIZAC/ASSOCIATED PRESS)