Video: Bill Self Makes HOF Case for Eddie Sutton in Enshrinement Speech

On Friday night, Kansas head coach Bill Self was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The former OSU basketball player’s journey as a coach has been a long, winding road that took him to Kansas, Oral Roberts, Tulsa, Illinois and Oklahoma State (as an assistant). In thanking players and coaches who impacted him at those stops in his enshrinement speech Friday, Self used his platform to make the case for why Eddie Sutton is deserving of seeing his name enshrined into the Hall, too.

“I also want to thank coach Leonard Hamilton for hiring me at Oklahoma State,” Self said. “I learned so much watching how he worked on a daily basis, basically building a program from scratch.

“Then of course, Eddie Sutton, who can’t be here for health reasons. It was so special watching him galvanize a community at Oklahoma State. I, like so many, feel coach Sutton should be in this Hall, and hopefully someday will be.”

Sutton, who led OSU to two Final Four appearances and won 806 career games as a college head coach, has been nominated but bypassed numerous times for the Hall of Fame.