A Season to Forget Nears End for Hogs

In this, the 11th year of Eddie Sutton’s reign at the University of Arkansas, Hog Heaven has caught a little hell.

There have been defections, suspensions, closed practices, early-morning practices, three-times-a-day practices, fan criticism, vicious letter writing, the worst defeats in Sutton’s Arkansas career, the most defeats in Sutton’s Arkansas career and rumors galore--all ending with Sutton in Indianapolis with the NBA Pacers or in Auburn with the Tigers or in retirement or most anywhere else next season except up in the backhills for his 12th season.

For the first time, this stepchild, the one Sutton pulled out of the gutter in 1974, washed behind the ears and sent off into national prominence, has talked back to the old man. Suddenly, it’s what does he know, what with his antique Mr. Iba ways in these days of slam, jam, high-five-me-man ways?

“I don’t know,” said Sutton, bent over, seemingly searching the ground for an answer. “Maybe we’ve built a monster here.”

A roaring brontosaurus, of sorts, in a state populated with only 2.3 million people, who usually serve as the butt of many a joke. But their pride, their bragging rights, no matter where they live in this so-called land of opportunity or where they go to school or who they marry, is, and always will be with the Razorbacks. For what other reason would grownups wear pig snoot hats and unabashedly call themselves Hogs--in public?

Sutton arrived in 1974, inheriting a program with but two winning seasons in the previous 11 years. But in 10 seasons he has: won or tied for five Southwest Conference titles and finished second four times; won 20 or more games the last eight seasons and made eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament; won 32 games in 1978 while finishing third in the NCAA Tournament; recorded five Top-10 poll finishes; produced four of Arkansas’ nine All-Americas; compiled a 111-8 record at Barnhill Arena.

This year, in a perverse sort of way, the Razorbacks have hit the pits. Not the pits as others know the pits, but the pits aligned with 10 years of Arkansas tradition. This is the first time Sutton’s Arkansas defeats have mounted into double figures.

“When he first came here,” said long-time Fayetteville High School coach Joe Kritschmer, “he lost nine or 10 games (17-9) and everybody was tickled pink. But Coach Sutton has created a dynasty, and people aren’t satisfied unless he wins the conference championship and goes to the Final Four.”

The reason for such unparalleled failure to date is plain and simple. Inexperience and schedule. Only Olympic center Joe Kleine and forward Charles Ballentine are seniors. Scott Rose, a walk-on a year ago, is the only junior. Eight of the other 12 Razorbacks are freshmen. As many as three yearlings have started at once. At least two start these days, with five playing nearly every game.

The schedule has been no bargain, either, Sutton calling it the toughest since he’s been here. For that, he apologizes, although the Hogs haven’t exactly embarrassed themselves in defeat. They’ve lost by one at Ohio State, then tumbled in the Rainbow Tournament at Hawaii--losing to eighth-ranked Georgia Tech and 14th-ranked Iowa. Two of the other losses have been to formerly No. 1 Georgetown and No. 2 SMU (in overtime). They’ve lost to TCU in overtime, too, and have lost at Houston, at Virginia and at home to Texas Tech, the most crushing blow of the season.

Knowing all this, much of Sutton’s impetuous behavior and much of the season-long shenanigans could have been avoided if not for Sutton’s own ways. In most people’s books, this should have been a rebuilding season for Arkansas, the Hogs taking their lumps, taking their losses with aplomb and looking forward to the next season.

Not Sutton. The guy is obsessed with winning, possessed with a drive for excellence, no matter the circumstances. He knows no other way. Even his wife, Patsy, who serves as the team’s unofficial academic and cultural adviser, said that was a very good perception of this 49-year-old man she married 26 years ago.

What worries Frank Broyles, the Arkansas athletic director who hired Sutton away from Creighton University, is Sutton burning out by season’s end.

“He’s coached harder than he’s ever coached in his life,” Broyles said. “But Eddie looks tired to me . . . a season like this is a tremendous drain. In football you can get only 11 hickies, but in basketball you can get 30.

“See, maintaining is the toughest thing in the world. I ran into Vince Lombardi in an airport one day after he had won his second Super Bowl. He told me he was going to retire. I said, ‘Coach, you’re telling me you’re retiring from the Green Bay Packers?’ And he said, ‘Frank, maintaining is putting me in my grave.’ The next week he retired.”

Sutton looks tired. His back is hunched over even more, as if having spent too many years pushing a plow in the Ozark hills. His walk is even more deliberate, as if those are fresh eggs he’s stepping on. He tends to repeat himself sometimes from day to day, and lapses into discussions of the old days, talking of Iba and Rupp and Allen. These youngsters have taken a lot out of him this year.

This fatigue is no secret, either. Jay Dickey, an Arkansas alumnus from Pine Bluff, asked, “How does Eddie look? Does he look tired?” A guy in the airport said, “I just hope he makes it through the season.”

But if you had been through the season Eddie Sutton has this year, you’d be tired, too. Heck, just hearing all the trials and tribulations of the year Suttons calls “a little different,” wears you out.

Before the first ball even bounced once this season, the Razorbacks were called for some serious traveling. Junior Willie Cutts had transferred to Arkansas State. Junior Darryl Bedford transferred to Austin Peay. Junior Robert Brannon decided to stick with football. Junior Keenan DuBose, just two weeks into practice, up and left for North Texas State.

Cutts, Bedford and Brannon viewed the influx of freshmen as a barometer of the future. The older guys wouldn’t be getting much playing time.

The first day of practice, Sutton sounded the alarm, closing practice to the public and media. The decree lasted a week.

After a sloppy performance in the season-opening victory over Southeastern Louisiana, Sutton conducted practice an hour longer.

Then came Hawaii, the 9-1 Razorbacks finding crusted ore in their bucket under this far west Rainbow. They lost by 20 to Georgia Tech, the worst beating for Sutton at Arkansas. They lost by 19 to Iowa, Sutton’s second-worst defeat at Arkansas. They abruptly left, paying no attention to the social amenities some alumni expected to be paid on the trip.

“The Hawaii trip was a disaster,” Dickey said. “There was a lot of misunderstandings. The team was put into position to be the host, but they had a job to do down there.”

A few sensibilities were bruised, a few cheeks were left puffed and, of course, a few checkbooks probably will waiver come donation time.

Sutton had no time for social nonsense. He had a conference season coming up, and his team wasn’t ready. So he did what Iba taught him--work, work, work. After flying nearly 12 hours from Hawaii to Arkansas, Sutton held a noon practice one hour later. For the next three days, the Hogs had three-a-days.

Unscheduled 7 a.m. practices became commonplace. Another postgame workout was staged following the return from an overtime loss at TCU.

“He’s had unscheduled practices before,” Kritschmer said. “Used to do that two or three years ago. He’d schedule two and three practices a day and nobody said anything then. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Sutton raised a few eyebrows, especially with those impressionable freshmen.

“I think that kind of surprised me and the other guys,” said freshman redshirt Kenny Hutchinson.