Richardson, Sutton named finalists for basketball hall of fame

Of the 10 finalists on the ballot for the Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2014, two of them are former Arkansas coaches.

According to ESPN, legendary former head Hogs Nolan Richardson and Eddie Sutton are among the former players, coaches, and institutions being considered for basketball’s most prestigious honor.

Richardson was 389–169 at Arkansas, and 508–206 overall in 22 seasons as a Division I basketball coach. He is the only coach in history to win a Division I basketball national championship, an NIT championship, and a junior college national championship.

Sutton was 260–75 during his time at Arkansas, and 888–342 overall in 39 seasons as a head basketball coach. He began his career at Southern Idaho, before moving on to coach Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, and San Francisco.

Both coaches reached the Final Four while at Arkansas; Sutton in 1978 with his famous Triplets of Sidney Moncrief, Marvin Delph, and Ron Brewer; and Richardson three times in 1990, 1994, and 1995. Sutton also reached the Final Four twice with Oklahoma State in 1995 and in 2004.

Richardson is the only Arkansas basketball coach to win an NCAA championship (in 1994), and he was one game away from repeating in 1995 when his Razorbacks lost in the championship game to UCLA.

Obviously, both coaches have a good chance to be selected, and if you ask us, they both deserve to be inducted.

Others being considered for the 2014 class include Tim Hardaway, Kevin Johnson, Mitch Redmond, Immaculata University, Spencer Haywood, Harley Redin, Gary Williams, and Alonzo Mourning.

The inductees will be announced on April 7 during the 2014 NCAA Final Four.