There is a lot of great basketball being played in the state of North Carolina. Whether it is UNC or Duke, Wake Forest or NC State, rare is the occasion that there aren't multiple schools from the state of North Carolina occupying spots in the top 25.
Dominique Sutton is a North Carolina native, Durham to be exact. But after spending the past three seasons in Manhattan, KS, Sutton made the decision to transfer to a school closer to his girlfriend and two daughters.
Sutton's a player, too. He started last year, averaging 7.2 ppg and 5.8 rpg, for a Kansas State team that won 28 games. He would have started this year for a team many considered to be in the top five or ten teams in the country.
He's a valuable addition to any team.
The problem?
Dominique Sutton is known for his work on the defensive end.(photo credit: CJOnline)
The big boys wanted Sutton to sit out a season.
"A lot of bigger schools want me to sit out, but I want to go to a place where I can play right away," Sutton said.
It seems that Sutton will be able to play right away. According to Jeff Goodman, Sutton intends to continue his basketball career at North Carolina ... Central. Now, we could sit here and talk about how disappointing it will be for Sutton to go from playing for a national title in the Big XII in front of raucous crowds in the Octagon of Doom to being a member of a team that gets paid to travel to schools like Kansas State for an annual ass-whooping. We could talk about how noble Sutton is for making a sacrifice like that to be with his family. We could talk about how shocking it is that none of the four ACC schools in North Carolina had use for a 6'5" lockdown defender.
But none of that would be fair to Sutton. He made an adult decision, he sacrificed personal gain for his family. He made the decision that makes him happy. He should be applauded for it. He shouldn't have to read about what he gave up.
No, I want to talk about the situation that he walked into at NCCU. NCCU will become the 13th member of the MEAC conference next season. The Eagles, who were founding members of the MEAC but stay at the DII level when the conference went DI in 1979, have been a DI provisional since 2007. And while their 7-22 record looks bad, this is a group that was actually competitive against MEAC level competition last season. With just one senior on the roster in 2009-2010, this is a group that will be competitive in the MEAC.
Sutton isn't the only transfer they landed, either. Ray Willis, a 6'8" wing that saw limited minutes in his two seasons with Oklahoma, is also headed to NCCU. Sutton will be petitioning for a hardship waiver (which, hopefully, the NCAA will grant), while Willis will have to wait until 2011 to suit up for the Eagles.
Either way, its a great start for a program like NCCU, a MEAC looking for an immediate impact. If Sutton does get himself eligible, and the Eagles somehow make the NCAA Tournament, rest assured that Sutton will get plenty of publicity.
It will be an ending worthy of a movie deal.
And even if NCCU and Sutton fade into the oblivion that is low-major basketball come February and March, rest assured that this will still be a storybook ending for Sutton.
The only difference is that he alone, and not the entire college basketball watching world, will know about it.
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