Sutton returns to coach at San Fran

SAN FRANCISCO -- Eddie Sutton acknowledges he's selfish: He really wants 800 wins.

He also would prefer to end his career on a positive note rather than amid controversy as he did at Oklahoma State.

Sutton is coming out of retirement to replace Jessie Evans as San Francisco's basketball coach and will have his shot at 800 victories after all. USF announced Wednesday night that Evans was taking "a leave of absence" for the rest of the season and that the 71-year-old Sutton would lead the Dons (4-8) on an interim basis.

Sutton's first chance for win No. 799 will be Friday night at Weber State.

"It's very important," Sutton said of winning 800 games. "I had a chance earlier this year to take a Division I job and didn't think I wanted to do it. From a selfish standpoint, it is something I'm excited about. ...

"It was a goal I had for myself. I don't think nationally anybody's going to look at it and say, 'Now you won 800 versus 798.' There's just not that much difference."

Evans will be away from the team at least until March, second-year USF athletic director Debra Gore-Mann said, declining to offer further details. She wouldn't say whether he had a health concern, an issue with the NCAA or whether he would even be considered to coach the team again next season.

When Sutton's victories at Tulsa Central High School and the College of Southern Idaho are included, his career number stands at exactly 1,000.

His retirement came about three months after a drunken driving accident caused him to miss the Cowboys' final 10 games of the 2005-06 season. Sutton pleaded no contest to misdemeanor aggravated drunken driving and two other charges following the February 2006 car accident.

"I've thought about that and I would say it probably does (enter into this decision). I certainly didn't want to end my coaching career the way it ended here," Sutton said, speaking from an athletic office at Oklahoma State.

He called his drinking problems a "thing of the past."

"As a recovering alcoholic you have to work on that every day," he said. "I still attend meetings."

Gore-Mann said she "took Coach Sutton at his word."