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there enough times you're going to win one. It's more difficult than it used to be because everybody's good. Here, I believe our personnel will be better than I've ever had at Arkansas. I think our system will allow us to be competitive every season for the national title. I guess that would be my goal.
What about your chances of winning the title at Arkansas?
Coach Sutton: We had a chance in '78 to win the national title when Kentucky won it. I'll tell you what, Duke, Notre Dame, Kentucky and Arkansas were all about the same. If you would have played that thing four straight weekends you might of had four different national champions. Since that time we weren't good enough to win the national title. In '79 we could have, when Moncrief was a senior and Larry Bird of Indiana State. We played (Arkansas-Indiana State) in the Midwest championship in Cincinnati. That was a great game. Had we got T;o Salt Lake City (site of '79 Final Four) we might of had a better shot of winning the national title because we could have played Michigan State (national champs that season) better,
Take It Easy On Me, Fellas!
"The coaching box extends all the way to the ceiling. You may see me go up in Rupp Arena some night and sit down, if I get frustrated." - Eddie Sutton
because of our quickness, than Indiana State did. But that was a great game (Arkansas-Indiana State).
What about Kentucky's 'bad luck' in Stokely Athletic Center?
Coach Sutton: I'll tell you what this league has some great coaches, and Don DeVoe is one of the best. Well I hope we can turn that around.
How do you feel about the team
being, in a way, separated from the campus by residing at Wildcat Lodge?
Coach Sutton: I'll tell you what I like is that you can control everything around them -- you can have bed check. And I think that's important. But in the offseason we tell our players, and I'll tell these players the same thing, if you want to be in a fraternity, get in a fraternity. If you want to be active politically on the
campus, do. Join student.
Eddie All Smiles
.do whatever you want to the clubs; be a regular The disadvantage of not putting your student/athletes in a regular dorm is the fact that you can't control the environment around them. But the disadvantage is that you're not always going to be in what I call a 'jock' environment. So I want them in the offseason, in the fall and spring when the basketball is over, I want them to associate with the rest of the student body. I think that's important.
When your team lost to St. Johns in the West Regionals this season, what about the disagreements you had with the officials?
Coach Sutton: Well, I'll probably have some here too. Those zebras will get you. I'll tell you (Sutton laughs). What I did, I went back (to) Ladell Anderson (during the game), who coaches Brigham Young University and is on our board also, and he was grading the officials. Billy Packer jumped on me, but he didn't understand the rules. I told him, Packer don't be criticizing coaches unless you know the rules. The rule, when we put the coaching box in, was to keep the coach away from the scorer and away from the timer. The coaching box extends all the way to the ceiling. You may see me go up in Rupp Arena some night and sit down, if I get frustrated. We were getting some bad calls, so I went around there, and Ladell does it better than I do, but I made sure I didn't get out of the coaching box. I stepped over a chair and went back there and I said, 'Ladell, this isn't right. We had some phantom calls. He kind of apologized and said, T know," he said, 'it's horrible.' I just went back there to be with him for a few minutes. I tell you what, if you stay in this round ball sport long enough you're liable to be in the crazy house. It's the toughest game to coach. Frank Broyles (Athletic Director and former football coach at Arkansas) told me one time, it's like having a ball inside your ten yard line all night.
Like your predecessor did, have you set a time element to when you'll retire from coaching basketball?
Coach Sutton: I turned 49 the other day. I look at 60 years (age). There won't  be  any  Ray  Meyers, Marv
Harshmans, Ralph Millers, Mr. (Ad-olph) Rupps or Mr. Ibas. I don't think coaches anymore (will coach that long). . .it's such a stressful situation. That's what I told Dr. (Otis) Singletary and Cliff that I will look at this as a 10 or 11 year job. I hope that we can win some national championships before I step down.
In relation to recruiting, what about the feeling that some opponents, in the past, would sometimes say bad things about Kentucky in trying to win over a recruit?
Coach Sutton: I would hope they won't do that. If you're on top, everybody's going to take shots at you, I guess. I'm not going to get paranoid about it. I'm just going to go out there and sell the University of Kentucky. But if people do that, then they do it.
Did you talk to any of your coaching colliegues before accepting the job?
Coach Sutton: I only talked to two people -- Mr. Iba and I talked with Jack Hartman, President of Basketball Coaches Association. They both thought that I was the right person for the job and that I ought to take the job. But I didn't talk to anyone else. I talked to my wife (Patsy). She's going to be a great asset to the state of Kentucky. She's a wonderful person. She's a lot smarter than I am; she graduated from college in three years. She doesn't know anything about the X's and o's, but she knows about people. She knows basketball because Oklahoma State (where she graduated from) was very good when she was there. We were college sweethearts.
Was your pride hurt any because you weren't called as soon as you were for the Kentucky job?
Coach Sutton: No. I told Cliff that I didn't think he was ever going to call me. (Sutton smiles).
Were you content to staying at Arkansas if you didn't get to coach at Kentucky ?
Coach Sutton: I would have retired at Arkansas.
What about a meeting in the future with Arkansas?
Coach Sutton: I don't know if I want to play Arkansas (Sutton laughs). I don't know if I want to go back there. If they want to play in Kansas City we
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