Eddie Sutton, legendary Oklahoma State basketball coach, dies at 84

Eddie Sutton, who took Oklahoma State men’s basketball program to two Final Four appearances in 1995 and 2004, died of natural causes Saturday night in Tulsa. He was 84.

Sutton’s family said in a statement he was surrounded by his three sons and their families. His wife Patsy died in 2013.

“Dad and Mom treated their players like family and always shared the belief that his teachings went beyond the basketball court,” the family wrote, according to OSU athletics. “He cherished the time he spent at every school and appreciated the support of their loyal fans. He believed they deserved so much credit in the success of his programs.”

Sutton’s death comes less than two months after he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 3.

Sutton won 806 games with three Final Four appearances during his career between Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and OSU. He also had 84 wins at the junior college level at College of Southern Idaho, and 118 during his 1959-66 run at Tulsa Central High School.

Sutton — an OSU alum — won two regular season (1992, 1995) and the 1995 tournament championship in the Big Eight, and the 2004 regular season title and two tournament championships (2004, 2005) in the Big 12.

Under his tutelage, the Cowboys reached the postseason 14 times in 17 seasons, including 13 NCAA tournament bids and two Final Four appearances.

Sutton was the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 1978 and 1986, the 1993 Big Eight Coach of the Year and a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2004. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.