13 E
; a part of my family, and we treat them vn children. But ultimately, I said, "You the ones that have to make that decision, use it's your life. You're the one that will decision. You're mother and dad will not
 when you're playing in the NBA, you're >ur own."
you think he decided to come out now? Vt answer that. I think it was a very dif-, because he certainly enjoyed his two years ' of Kentucky. I can't answer that. I don't the financial sains of going into the NBA hether that;entered into it or not. It would lation on pv part to do so.
do you thirl the current NCAA investiga-t progrplUiad anything to do with his
't answer that. In his release (that he made he indicatej that it did not, and it never
issions.
ere's always speculation, but was there any between you and Rex? I know last winter ssion about shot selection. No, not at all. I think we all grew from nk Rex was very happy at the University ink he was very pleased that he made the come here.
think it had anything to do with the fact s leaving, and several of the guys that he s with during his career? 't think so. I think all of the younger players close to Rex. 1 have not talked to any of n (Sutton) last evening and told him there lat he would be leaving the ballclub, and liller), and they're the only two I've seen, were very|disappointed that he's leaving. : dowe wish him the very best, I hope :ar. And we'll all be following his career ballclub.
ch of a bloy/ is this to the program. . .los-
 ability alid magnitude?
, I don't think it makes coaching any easier . I don't think any program loses a quality >ut sufferiflg some. But I've also told you 'hen you g& through a period of adversity, to injury you have one go to the NBA other players step forward and accept the
opportunity and they'll do well. Kentucky been somefiing special and it's always been
it will again. We just hope that we'll go always ambzes me with young people, in ow they do react. And you know, a lot of : not had an opportunity to play next year,
take a very positive approach to it all.
u talked with Rex, did he ask you anything on? DidnWhat come up at all? . .on Monday we talked about it a little out it veryjjong at all. We talked about the we pretty piuch talked about what I've said ;pect, the Jnental and emotional aspects.
Question: Coach, you said right at the end of March, when Rex said he might go pro the year after this one, you felt very strongly that he should stick around this season. And yet you said that you really didn't try to influence the decision?
Eddie Sutton: No. I told you I gave my opinion. And my opinion was that I thought he would be better off staying for at least another year and maturing. And that's my opinion. And I think he certainly respected that, and his family did. But they were the ones that had to make the decision.
Question: How did he break the news to you?
Eddie Sutton: You would have to have mixed emotions. And knowing Rex as I do, I think he did have this morning. It's probably a tough decision to make, and then have to call. And I admire him and his courage for doing that. He said, "Coach, we've decided I'm gonna put my name in the NBA draft." And I said, "I can't talk you out of it, can I?" He said no, and I said, "Welf, I wofi't." And again I told him ho coaching him the two years he was here and he certainly had done a lot for Kentucky's basketball program during that two-year period.
Question: Given Chapman's absence, and all of the graduations, will this be the most inexperienced team you've ever coached?
Eddie Sutton: Well, there are still a lot of question marks, because even the incoming freshmen, we don't know for sure if they're gonna pass Proposition 48. But it will be a very young basketball team. I guess when you really look at the makeup of the 1988-89 squad, it probably is the youngest group of people that I've ever coached. But I look forward to that. That's a challenge. And they'll be eager to play, and eager to learn.
Question: What do say to those hundreds of thousands of fans out there who say: First the investigation and now Rex leaves, what next?
Eddie Sutton: Both of those I have no control over, so I don't know what I can say other than to say, "When the going gets tough, the tough have gotta get going. We've got to remain very optimistic and work together, it's a team game. We need your backing and support more than ever before." And I've gotten that. Everywhere I've been, and all the correspondence that comes into our officethe phone calls, the letterspeople have been very supportive.
Question: Did you and Rex ever discuss the role that he may be playing for younger kids, and an example he may be setting here?
Eddie Sutton: We had talked about this maybe a couple of weeks ago when he was in my office, how important I thought it was for him to be a leader by example, and to be very supportive of his younger teammates. And he accepted that, he said, "Well, I'm looking forward to that." In the pickup games, I asked him a couple of days after that how they were going and he said, "Fine." So he would have had a role of leadership because I think all of the players would have looked to him for leadership.
Question: How surprised were you?
Eddie Sutton: I was surprised, but after having visited with them on Monday and then again last night with his father, I knew they were very serious about this and they had taken considerable amount of time in making what they thought was the right decision for Rex. I was surprised, and certainly very disappointed because I would have liked to have had the opportunity to coach him for another season.
it. It's just as difficult to get used to. 1 think Rex will do well. Rex is a great player, a great athlete and can do some tremendous things with the basketball. It's a big step. I hope that he made the right decision."
Dick Vitale, basketball analyst for ABC
and ESPN: "I spoke to Rex on the phone right after it happened: he knows my feelings. My feelings are that I think that many of the kids out there need to finish their collegiate days just to mature as people. Going into the NBA they have to learn part of their life: no longer are they the option. No. 1; no longer is everything designed for them; no longer is everybody doing things for you; and being mature enough to handle the pressures of travel. Then the big problems arrives. Many of them don't get a lot of PT, playing time. They have to deal with a lot of cash in their pocket and a lot of idle time. That's when kids really lose confidence and develop other problems. I hope that doesn't happen to Rex. I know he's financially going to be probably taken care of. I just, personally, would have preferred him to naturally stay in school. I guess I'm prejudiced and look at it a little differently than most people."
Joe Dean, athletic director at Louisiana State: "Well, I was disappointed. I hated to see him do it,
because I'm a Southeastern Conference guy and I like to see our great players stay in this league. I don't like to see them
mSL_I leave. I'm selfish. I
wanted to watch him play. I wanted to see him come to Baton Rouge because I knew we'd fill the house. So. I hated to see him leave. I was disappointed, very much. His youth may be a little of a negative factor for him but he'll grow up fast. He's a talent, he can play in that league. He will be a great player (in the NBA). I don't think there's any question about that. I'm just going to miss him, I'm going to miss him a lot. There's no question about that. I wish him well."
Ed Murphy, head basketball coach at Mississippi: "It's a tough one. On one hand, you know, it will be a lot easier to play Kentucky without
thim; they're no longer H favored to win the
, league. In that sense it's better on all of us. SEaLHHI But overall, it isn't because he's a great, great player. .He's a class kid. I think that he would have been Player of the Year (SEC) and probably he might of had a chance at National Player of the Year. That would have been very good for our league, even though it would have been a lot tougher to play Kentucky. So, I really have mixed-emotions about it. I hate to see him go even though he's so hard to defend. I probably feel a little differently than a lot of coaches about this kind of thing, and not Rex in particular, but a kid leaving in general. There is no real concrete reason for a kid who is going to be drafted in the first round and is going to get a no-cut contract to stay in college. You can make all the arguments you want to, but the fact of the matter is that you
can't stay in college one more or two more years and tack on one or two more years on to your program. You can't do that. When you get to be, say 40, you're not going to play anymore. A kid whose locked into a surefire first-round draft choice, sure-fire no-cut contract. . .there are no tangible reasons to stay in college. This kid would have been Player of the Year in the conference, first-team Ail-American. . .all of these things. But those are not tangible things. Aside from improving his position in the draft, from a money standpoint there is no reason to stay. You can talk about the value of a degree at the University of Kentucky, Oie Miss or anywhere else, but when you start talking abour $400,000 a year you can have my degree. I'll give it to you. So, I don't blame Isiah Thomas and I don't blame Rex. I don't blame any kid that goes who is a locked-in. first-round draft choice and that is going to get a no-cut contract. I can understand that. I don't think I'd have a problem with that even if it was my own player, because he can't play an extra year. He's going to get nothin' that year he plays for me and he's going to get $400,000 or whatever that year he plays in the pros. I can't blame anybody. Objectively, coaches move for the same reason. I can talk about all the aesthetic things about coaching in the Southeastern Conference. One of the main reasons that I'm here is that it pays three times as much as Delta State, three or four times as much. That's important! There's no point in kidding around about it. I can do things for my family that I didn't think I would ever be able to do. A lot of times these kids are criticized, but the fact of the matter is that it's a business decision. Most other people would make it the same way. If he would leave Kentucky, he would leave anywhere. Here he is the greatest player in the greatest program in the United States and he's leaving. Well, it has to be a business decision. What other reason could there be? He was at the No. 1 spot in college basketball. He's a great kid and I hope he does well.
CM. Newton, former UK player and current head coach at Vanderbilt: "I hate to see Rex leave at this point, personally. Of course, I hate to see any youngster leave before school's out. My feelings have always been that if you're good at playing professional basketball you'll play it five or six years. That leaves you 35 years to earn a living. In college, I'm not talking about the degree as much the experience that kinda prepares you to make that living for that 35 years. In my mind, I'm not sure going hardship is a good thing. That's generally. In Rex's case, he has to answer that specificiallyif it's the right time or not. I just hate to see him leave the league. He's good for it and good for Kentucky. I'd rather he still be here (playing in the SEC). His adjustment will be the level of play; it's a different game. There's a tremendous adjustment you have in the number of games, schedule. And of course, the isolation that professional athletics brings you. You've been on a college team and now you're much more isolated. There are tremendous adjustments. Yet, I'm sure Rex and his folks have thought through this and obviously think that he can make that adjustment. I sure wish oV Rex well, I think the world of him. We had tried to recruit him and had gotten to know him. I hope things go well for him."