JimBob
02-18-2008, 08:20 AM
Heir ball
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
2/17/2008
Pressure follows sons who follow in dad's coaching footsteps
ON ANY short list of the more pressurized situations in college basketball is Sean Sutton's.
When his Oklahoma State team plays a home game, it does so on Eddie Sutton Court -- named in honor of Sean's father, who led the Cowboys to national prominence and two Final Fours.
The OSU job was passed from father to son. The same recently occurred at Texas Tech, where Pat Knight was promoted to the head-coaching position following the abrupt resignation of his father, Bob Knight.
With Saturday's 66-64 home loss to Oklahoma, Pat Knight's Red Raider record dropped to 1-3. He needs 901 more victories to match the success of his dad. Bob Knight recorded the most victories of any Division I men's coach and captured three national titles while at Indiana.
Sean Sutton and Pat Knight assumed control of Big 12 programs with no previous head-coaching experience. Detractors might question their qualifications and allege nepotism.
Sounding like his blunt father, Pat Knight said, "Why should I worry about what people think?"
Two years ago, when his title was changed from assistant coach to head coach-designate, the younger Knight said he did some soul-searching.
"Honestly, I just thought, 'I like it here so much. Why leave it? Don't worry about what people think. You might as well give it a shot,' " he said. "How many guys at 37 would love to be a Big 12 head coach? I put all of that in perspective and I couldn't turn it down.
"No matter what happens, I gave it a shot. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had taken a different route -- maybe a safer route."
Tony Bennett is the second-year coach at Washington State. He succeeded his dad, Dick Bennett. Keno Davis is the first-year coach at Drake, where he succeeded his dad, Dr. Tom Davis.
Tony Bennett and Keno Davis were immediately successful. In 2005-06, Dick Bennett's final season at Washington State, the Cougars finished last in the Pac-10. Last season, with Tony Bennett in charge, WSU had a school-record 26 wins and beat Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament. Entering Saturday night's contest at Oregon, Washington State was 19-5 and ranked 21st in the country.
In his first season as the head man at Drake, Keno Davis is leading a suddenly formidable program. The perennially moribund Bulldogs are 23-2 and ranked No. 14.
On the subject of nepotism, Tony Bennett said, "I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to be a coach at a high-major school in a great conference. Those guys (Pat Knight, Sean Sutton and Keno Davis) have worked very hard alongside their fathers to recruit and establish a program. When you get the opportunity, you're not going to turn it down. There are naysayers out there, but that's part of being in this profession. You're going to be judged by how your team does over the course of time."
"I always pull for coaches' sons," Bennett added. "You grow up in the same environment. You're carrying on the legacy of your father, and that makes it special."
Saturday was an important day for Sean Sutton, whose Cowboys ended their 19-game road losing streak with a 59-54 triumph at 16th-ranked Texas A&M. In two seasons as the OSU coach, Sutton's overall mark is 35-25.
Recently, Eddie Sutton suggested that Oklahoma State officials should publicly express support for Sean. When given that opportunity, athletic director Mike Holder chose not to comment.
Increasingly, Sean Sutton's job status has become a conversation topic.
"You've got to be yourself. You can't worry about the comparisons (to OSU's Eddie Sutton era)," Sean Sutton said. "You've got to have thick skin and be able to block out things that are said."
Before taking the Baylor job in 2003, Scott Drew succeeded his father, Homer Drew, at Valparaiso.
"If you look at the working world in general, a lot of times you have sons follow their dad in their chosen profession," Scott Drew said. "That's a compliment to the father. Coaching is no different.
"There are some definite benefits to being a coach's son and working with your dad. My father was able to give me a lot of responsibility to help prepare me to become a head coach. When you do take over, you feel like you have big shoes to fill. You don't want to let your (father) down or the fans down."
Joey Meyer can relate to the Sean Sutton and Pat Knight situations. At DePaul in 1984, Meyer succeeded his father, Ray Meyer, as the head basketball coach at DePaul. Ray Meyer, among the more respected sports figures in Chicago, coached the Blue Demons for 42 seasons, recording 724 victories and taking his 1943 and 1979 teams to the Final Four.
In spite of working as his dad's assistant for 13 years, and in spite of being invited to interview for the Oklahoma job (a job that went to Billy Tubbs), Joey Meyer's detractors questioned whether he was the right man to succeed Ray Meyer. Joey Meyer did get the position and held it for 13 seasons, during which he totaled 231 wins and seven postseason appearances. He was forced to resign in 1997.
"People are always going to use the nepotism thing. You've just got to have confidence in yourself," said Joey Meyer, now the coach of the NBA D-League's Tulsa 66ers. "My first year as the DePaul head coach was a struggle, and then the next two years, we went to the Sweet Sixteen. All of a sudden, people thought I wasn't such a dummy after all.
"The pressure and criticism always affect you, so you've got to wear blinders and just keep going and keep working. You have pressure in any job. You just have a little more when you follow your dad."
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FAMILY INHERITANCE
Four NCAA Division I programs have coaches whose predecessors were their fathers:
Drake
Father: Dr. TomDavis (2003-2007), 54-65 record at Drake.
Son: Keno Davis (first season), 23-2 record.
Oklahoma State
Father: Eddie Sutton (1990-2006), 368-151 record at OSU, two Final Fours with Cowboys, one of fiveDivision I men’s coaches with at least 800 victories overall.
Son: Sean Sutton (second season), 35-25 record.
Texas Tech
Father: Bob Knight (2001-08), 138- 82 record at Tech, 902 victories overall (most in Division I men’s history), three national championships at Indiana.
Son: Pat Knight (fi rst season), 1-3 record.
Washington State
Father: Dick Bennett (2003-06), 36-49 record at WSU.
Son: Tony Bennett (second season), 45-13 record.
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
2/17/2008
Pressure follows sons who follow in dad's coaching footsteps
ON ANY short list of the more pressurized situations in college basketball is Sean Sutton's.
When his Oklahoma State team plays a home game, it does so on Eddie Sutton Court -- named in honor of Sean's father, who led the Cowboys to national prominence and two Final Fours.
The OSU job was passed from father to son. The same recently occurred at Texas Tech, where Pat Knight was promoted to the head-coaching position following the abrupt resignation of his father, Bob Knight.
With Saturday's 66-64 home loss to Oklahoma, Pat Knight's Red Raider record dropped to 1-3. He needs 901 more victories to match the success of his dad. Bob Knight recorded the most victories of any Division I men's coach and captured three national titles while at Indiana.
Sean Sutton and Pat Knight assumed control of Big 12 programs with no previous head-coaching experience. Detractors might question their qualifications and allege nepotism.
Sounding like his blunt father, Pat Knight said, "Why should I worry about what people think?"
Two years ago, when his title was changed from assistant coach to head coach-designate, the younger Knight said he did some soul-searching.
"Honestly, I just thought, 'I like it here so much. Why leave it? Don't worry about what people think. You might as well give it a shot,' " he said. "How many guys at 37 would love to be a Big 12 head coach? I put all of that in perspective and I couldn't turn it down.
"No matter what happens, I gave it a shot. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had taken a different route -- maybe a safer route."
Tony Bennett is the second-year coach at Washington State. He succeeded his dad, Dick Bennett. Keno Davis is the first-year coach at Drake, where he succeeded his dad, Dr. Tom Davis.
Tony Bennett and Keno Davis were immediately successful. In 2005-06, Dick Bennett's final season at Washington State, the Cougars finished last in the Pac-10. Last season, with Tony Bennett in charge, WSU had a school-record 26 wins and beat Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament. Entering Saturday night's contest at Oregon, Washington State was 19-5 and ranked 21st in the country.
In his first season as the head man at Drake, Keno Davis is leading a suddenly formidable program. The perennially moribund Bulldogs are 23-2 and ranked No. 14.
On the subject of nepotism, Tony Bennett said, "I'm not going to turn down an opportunity to be a coach at a high-major school in a great conference. Those guys (Pat Knight, Sean Sutton and Keno Davis) have worked very hard alongside their fathers to recruit and establish a program. When you get the opportunity, you're not going to turn it down. There are naysayers out there, but that's part of being in this profession. You're going to be judged by how your team does over the course of time."
"I always pull for coaches' sons," Bennett added. "You grow up in the same environment. You're carrying on the legacy of your father, and that makes it special."
Saturday was an important day for Sean Sutton, whose Cowboys ended their 19-game road losing streak with a 59-54 triumph at 16th-ranked Texas A&M. In two seasons as the OSU coach, Sutton's overall mark is 35-25.
Recently, Eddie Sutton suggested that Oklahoma State officials should publicly express support for Sean. When given that opportunity, athletic director Mike Holder chose not to comment.
Increasingly, Sean Sutton's job status has become a conversation topic.
"You've got to be yourself. You can't worry about the comparisons (to OSU's Eddie Sutton era)," Sean Sutton said. "You've got to have thick skin and be able to block out things that are said."
Before taking the Baylor job in 2003, Scott Drew succeeded his father, Homer Drew, at Valparaiso.
"If you look at the working world in general, a lot of times you have sons follow their dad in their chosen profession," Scott Drew said. "That's a compliment to the father. Coaching is no different.
"There are some definite benefits to being a coach's son and working with your dad. My father was able to give me a lot of responsibility to help prepare me to become a head coach. When you do take over, you feel like you have big shoes to fill. You don't want to let your (father) down or the fans down."
Joey Meyer can relate to the Sean Sutton and Pat Knight situations. At DePaul in 1984, Meyer succeeded his father, Ray Meyer, as the head basketball coach at DePaul. Ray Meyer, among the more respected sports figures in Chicago, coached the Blue Demons for 42 seasons, recording 724 victories and taking his 1943 and 1979 teams to the Final Four.
In spite of working as his dad's assistant for 13 years, and in spite of being invited to interview for the Oklahoma job (a job that went to Billy Tubbs), Joey Meyer's detractors questioned whether he was the right man to succeed Ray Meyer. Joey Meyer did get the position and held it for 13 seasons, during which he totaled 231 wins and seven postseason appearances. He was forced to resign in 1997.
"People are always going to use the nepotism thing. You've just got to have confidence in yourself," said Joey Meyer, now the coach of the NBA D-League's Tulsa 66ers. "My first year as the DePaul head coach was a struggle, and then the next two years, we went to the Sweet Sixteen. All of a sudden, people thought I wasn't such a dummy after all.
"The pressure and criticism always affect you, so you've got to wear blinders and just keep going and keep working. You have pressure in any job. You just have a little more when you follow your dad."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FAMILY INHERITANCE
Four NCAA Division I programs have coaches whose predecessors were their fathers:
Drake
Father: Dr. TomDavis (2003-2007), 54-65 record at Drake.
Son: Keno Davis (first season), 23-2 record.
Oklahoma State
Father: Eddie Sutton (1990-2006), 368-151 record at OSU, two Final Fours with Cowboys, one of fiveDivision I men’s coaches with at least 800 victories overall.
Son: Sean Sutton (second season), 35-25 record.
Texas Tech
Father: Bob Knight (2001-08), 138- 82 record at Tech, 902 victories overall (most in Division I men’s history), three national championships at Indiana.
Son: Pat Knight (fi rst season), 1-3 record.
Washington State
Father: Dick Bennett (2003-06), 36-49 record at WSU.
Son: Tony Bennett (second season), 45-13 record.