Former UA forward Sutton dies at 59

Leroy Sutton was a four-year letterman at Arkansas between 1979 and 1984.
Leroy Sutton was a four-year letterman at Arkansas between 1979 and 1984.

FAYETTEVILLE -- It's been a tough few days for the University of Arkansas basketball family.

First the Razorbacks lost Eddie Sutton on Saturday night when the legendary coach died at 84 at his home in Tulsa.

Then early Tuesday morning Leroy Sutton, a forward and two-year starter for Arkansas and Eddie Sutton as a junior and senior during the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons, died at 59 at his home in North Little Rock.

According to the Pulaski County coroner's office, the reason for Leroy Sutton's death hasn't been determined pending a doctor's examination, but it was due to natural causes.

"There are a lot of people hurting right now, and none more so than the families of Coach Sutton and Leroy," said James Dickey, an Arkansas assistant coach from 1980-85. "You certainly feel for them and extend your sympathies."

While Eddie Sutton had been in failing healthy after suffering a stroke three years ago and was in hospice care, Leroy Sutton's death was unexpected.

"We're all in shock," said Joe Kleine, an All-Southwest Conference center who played with Leroy Sutton at Arkansas. "Nobody can believe it. It makes no sense.

"All I know is Coach Sutton must have a team up there in Heaven, and he needed a real good small forward and a great person. That's Leroy."

Darrell Walker was an All-American guard for the Razorbacks as a senior in 1983.

"I was just really, really stunned to get that phone call," Walker said of when he learned of Leroy Sutton's death. "It was a total shock."

Walker is coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He led the Trojans to a 21-10 record and the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title this season.

"I talked to Leroy all the time," Walker said. "Leroy and his wife [Lauvern] came to a lot of my games. It was always so fun to see him, and now he's gone just that quickly. I'm really going to miss him."

Sutton was the minister of music at Full Counsel Christian Fellowship Church in North Little Rock.

"Leroy and I had a special relationship," Walker said. "We both got recruited by Coach Sutton in 1979. I had to go to junior college for a year [at Westark Community College], and Leroy went straight to Arkansas."

Sutton, who was no relation to Eddie Sutton, was an all-state player in Indiana at South Bend Adams High School, where he averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds as a senior and 21 and 10 as a junior for teams that went a combined 44-3. Walker starred at Corliss High School in Chicago.

The two future Razorbacks played against each in the Illinois-Indiana High School All-Star game in Gary, Ind.

"I knew that Leroy was going to Arkansas, so we talked before the game," Walker said. "That was the start of our friendship."

Kleine, who played at Notre Dame as a freshman before transferring to Arkansas, met Sutton in the summer of 1979 when they played pickup games in South Bend.

"Leroy was a great scorer," Kleine said. "I found out he was going to Arkansas, and I remember wondering, 'Why isn't this guy staying home and playing for Notre Dame? He grew up right around the corner.'

"I asked him about it one day, and he told me Notre Dame didn't recruit him, which was pretty strange. But I'm sure glad I got to play with him at Arkansas."

Sutton narrowed his final two choices to Arkansas and Louisville before picking the Razorbacks. He was plagued by ankle injuries and averaged 4.3 minutes in 12 games as a freshman, redshirted, then averaged 3.2 minutes as a sophomore.

A breakthrough for Sutton came during his junior season when he earned a starting job and averaged 6.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 26.2 minutes for a team that reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 before losing to Louisville to finish 26-4.

As a senior, Sutton averaged 8.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 32.3 minutes as the Razorbacks reached the NCAA Tournament and finished 25-7.

Sutton made the transition from being a big-time scorer in high school to a defensive stopper for Arkansas. He filled the same role as Jim Counce did for Arkansas' 1978 Final Four team.

"The best defensive forwards I've ever had are Jimmy Counce and Leroy," Eddie Sutton said during the 1983-84 season. "And I don't believe we've had anyone, even Jimmy, as intent as Leroy when we'e going over the scouting report just before a ballgame."

Leroy Sutton said during his senior season that "Atomic Bomb" was his nickname in high school.

"I used to take a lot of jump shots," Sutton said with a laugh.

Sutton got a new nickname at Arkansas.

"I called him 'Sweet Leroy Sutton,' " Walker said. "First of all, he was a sweet player when I saw him in high school. And then he was a real smooth player at Arkansas.

"His whole demeanor was just cool and laid-back. To this day whenever we talked, I'd say, 'What's up Sweet Leroy Sutton?' He'd laugh, and say, 'What's up Sky Walker?' "

Kleine said the nickname was a good fit for Sutton.

"Leroy was an unbelievable teammate," Kleine said. "He was just so accepting of everyone and everybody. He had a great smile. He always looked fresh.

"He'd put on our practice gear and always tucked in his jersey and wore knee pads. Everything looked perfect when he had it on. That's why we used to call him 'Sweet Leroy Sutton,' because he always looked so well put together."

With teammates like Walker, Kleine and Alvin Robertson -- all NBA first-round draft picks -- Sutton didn't take a lot of shots, but he made them count. He shot 69.9% (79 of 113) from the field as a junior, and 66.2% (100 of 151) as a senior.

"Leroy would be 3 of 4 or 3 of 5 from the field, 2 of 2 from the line, get 3 or 4 rebounds, a steal, a block, a couple assists," Kleine said of Sutton's consistency from game to game. "Then you'd put him on somebody and he'd lock 'em up."

Dickey said Sutton realized defense was his ticket to becoming a starter.

"I can still remember Leroy getting down in that stance and just getting after it defensively," Dickey said. "He relished that role as the defensive stopper. The guys that he guarded usually didn't have a very good stat line."

Sutton had some big scoring games, especially against the best competition. He fouled out in just 16 minutes against North Carolina during the 1983-84 season, but he scored 11 points in the Razorbacks' 65-64 upset of the No. 1 Tar Heels in Pine Bluff.

Also as a senior, Sutton scored a career-high 17 points against No. 20 Oklahoma and 13 against No. 3 Houston. The day before Arkansas beat North Carolina, he scored 15 points at SMU.

"Maybe some people underrated Leroy, but he wasn't underrated by us," Kleine said. "We knew how valuable he was. He was a big part of everything we did."

Sutton was asked during his senior season whether it ever bothered him that his contributions might be overlooked because he focused on defense more than offense.

"I'm not concerned about the credit I get or don't get for playing defense," Sutton said. "I'm happy with the way I contribute to the team. As long as we win, I'm happy."

Sports on 05/27/2020

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