Sean Sutton Out at Oklahoma State

By Mark Buckets

According to ESPN halfwit Doug Gottlieb, Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton will step down in Stillwater.

Granted, Mr.Gottlieb has developed a couple of reliable sources over the years, so I'll trust his word on this one.

It's hard enough that the people of Stillwater had to deal with him for the better part of three years.

Oklahoma state basketball has been through a lot during the past decade. From that fateful day in January of 2001 when the Cowboy Basketball Family lost ten of their own when two of OSU's charter planes crashed, to the disgraceful fallout of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, the new millennium has been a mixed bag, to say the least.

Now, they are left to clean up the mess of a basketball program that has been in a free fall since it's Final Four run of 2004. The bottom has completely fallen out from under the Cowboys since then.

Where do the Pokes go from here? A name that has been bandied about is Vanderbilt's Kevin Stallings, which is no surprise to this Drive & Dish blogger. His name surfaces whenever a program of stature opens up: from Indiana to Oklahoma State, a Kevin Stallings reference has become practically mandatory.

I doubt that Stallings would be willing to uproot what he has "grown" at Vanderbilt. His daughter attends the school and has been open about his loyalty to the Commodore Nation. (I.e. the bigwigs who pay him and give him the aforementioned job security)

Whichever way you look at it, the new coach at Oklahoma State will take on the huge task of reconstructing a deteriorating program that has been through a lot over the past decade.


Trashtalk Superstar Adds:

I don't know if I'd agree with Mark Buckets' assertion that the next Oklahoma State coach will be taking on the "huge task" of rebuilding a "deteriorating program."

Over the past four years, Oklahoma State has made it to one Sweet Sixteen and to one Final Four. Their failure to get back to the Final Four doesn't necessarily signal that the program is in "free fall." There aren't many college basketball programs that get to the Final Four every year. That's why UCLA's back to back to back Final Fours are so impressive. Not even Duke can claim that kind of recent success.

And Oklahoma State has several factors going for it that should make it an attractive destination for prospective coaches:

1.)- They have a newly renovated/expanded arena.

2.)- They have one of the best home court advantages (and one of the best home crowds) in the country.

3.)- And they've got a generous multi billionaire (T. Boone Pickens) backing the program.

Oklahoma State has tradition, a history of recent success, great facilities, a strong fan base and a wealthy donor base.

All things considered, I think that the Oklahoma State coaching position is a pretty good job, as far as college basketball coaching positions go.

Vanderbilt Knocks Off #1 Tennessee

Four days after winning the biggest game in the history of their basketball program (Saturday's 66-62 win over then #1 Memphis), Tennessee was upset by #18 Vanderbilt 72-69 Tuesday night.

Tennessee was ranked #1 for the first time in school history when this week's AP Top 25 was released on Monday, but the Volunteers' stay at #1 appears certain to be short lived.

In the wake of Saturday's historic win over Memphis, head coach Bruce Pearl and his Tennessee squad were the beneficiaries of a tremendous amount of media attention. Tennessee, it was said, had climbed the mountain to elite basketball status. So it's fitting that Tennessee's sudden downfall came at the hands of their old in-state conference rival Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt has a history of knocking off #1 teams. As the above Sports Illustrated article says (see the link in the first paragraph of this post):

"Vanderbilt (24-4, 9-4) has hosted the No. 1 team nine times in its 56 years at Memorial Gym, and the Commodores improved to 6-3 overall in those games with victories in the past four, including then-No. 1 Florida last year. The Commodores also now have won all 18 home games this season and 31 of their last 32."

Over the course of the last four days, two different basketball programs from the state of Tennessee have held the #1 ranking in the nation, and both of those programs have been knocked off by in state rivals.

This season, the state of Tennessee has become the epicenter of college basketball; a title that has, historically, belonged to states that border Tennessee: Kentucky and North Carolina. And despite the college basketball mania to its North and East, college football has always been king in the Volunteer state.

But, at least for 2008, things have definitely changed.

One more thing: although he's built a great program at Vanderbilt (and may well be content to stay there), head coach Kevin Stallings is certain to be a hot prospect to fill one of the big name coaching vacancies that will arise at the conclusion of the college basketball regular season. One can expect to hear his name associated with some of the more well publicized coaching searches (especially Indiana).