Oral Roberts coach Scott Sutton has interviewed for the Nebraska vacancy with the hope of achieving his goal of coaching in a power conference, his father said Tuesday.
Sutton interviewed with Nebraska officials in Atlanta on Monday, his father, Eddie Sutton, said from his home in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday. Scott Sutton couldn't be reached for comment, and his father said he hadn't spoken with his son since the interview.
The Cornhuskers are looking for a replacement for Doc Sadler, who was fired March 9 after a 12-18 season and last-place finish in the Big Ten.
Scott Sutton is 250-161 in 13 years at Oral Roberts, which is moving from the Summit League to the Southland Conference next year. The Golden Eagles have played in three NCAA tournaments, two NITs and one CIT under him.
Oral Roberts won the Summit League regular season championship and lost to Nevada last week in the first round of the NIT to finish 27-7.
''He likes Oral Roberts,'' Eddie said. ''They've treated him well. But it's a time where he's going to look around. Scott wouldn't have gone down there (to Atlanta) if he didn't have some interest in Nebraska.''
Eddie Sutton retired in 2008 after a 36-year coaching career that included stops at Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State and San Francisco. He is familiar with Nebraska from his days at Creighton and his time in the Big Eight and Big 12 at Oklahoma State. Sadler was one of Sutton's student managers at Arkansas.
''Doc tells me Nebraska has nice facilities now. They just need to find some thoroughbreds, to get some quality players,'' Eddie Sutton said. ''That's the only problem. It's certainly a great school, and there's no reason they can't be good in basketball.''
Other names reportedly connected to the Nebraska job are Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Rob Jeter and Colorado State's Tim Miles. A spokesman at Wisconsin-Milwaukee said Jeter would have no comment. A message left at Miles' office wasn't immediately returned. And UCLA coach Ben Howland issued a statement last week saying he was committed to staying with the Bruins.
Eddie Sutton said Scott would be well-suited to coach the Huskers.
''He brings a lot to the table,'' Eddie said. ''He's a good speaker, a good recruiter and he always runs a clean program. He's everything a university would look for in a coach, and he has a desire to get to that next level.''
