Assistant men’s basketball coach Kevin Sutton will leave the program to take a position at Georgetown – more bad news as the Colonials endure a rough offseason full of departures.
Sutton leaves GW after just two seasons under head coach Mike Lonergan, upgrading to the perennially top 25 Hoya squad led by head coach John Thompson III. Sutton brings with him his 27 years of coaching experience and reputation as a very strong recruiter.
It is unknown at this time what role Sutton will have on Georgetown’s coaching staff, and who will replace him on GW’s bench.
The news was tweeted by former Colonials star Aaron Ware and reported by several Georgetown fan sites. The athletics department did not immediately return a request for comment.
Talk of Sutton leaving the Colonials emerged earlier this year, when he personally submitted his name for the open head coaching position at Florida Gulf Coast University.
His departure leaves Lonergan and his coaching staff in continued recruiting disarray as it has watched three players – David Pellom, Lasan Kromah and Jonathan Davis – transfer from the program, as well as Nigel Johnson decommit from GW in favor of Kansas State.
In his two seasons with coach Lonergan, the Colonials amassed a 23-38 record and ended both seasons with first round losses in the Atlantic 10 tournament. Comparatively, Thompson and the Hoyas finished last season with a 25-7 record and earned a No.2 seed for the NCAA Tournament before being upset in the first round by Florida Gulf Coast.
Previously, Sutton served as an assistant coach at James Madison University and Old Dominion University. Notably at GW, Sutton helped recruit two of the team’s current starters – forwards Patricio Garino and Kevin Larsen – both of whom played at two of Sutton’s former schools, Montrose Christian (1999) and Montverde Academy (2004-11).
Immediately prior to coaching at GW, Sutton served as the athletic director and head coach of the boys’ basketball team at Montverde Academy for eight years. He helped lead the Eagles to a 2007 National Title and a 2010 National High School Invitational Runners-Up nod.
