On the outside looking in<br/><span class='hl2'>Kentucky troubles might keep Sutton out of the Hall of Fame</span>

Two more victories did not secure coach Eddie Sutton a spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Not this year, and probably not ever.

This year's list of hall finalists will soon be announced, and it's expected to have a heavy NBA presence.

For the umpteenth time, Sutton will not survive the cut.

Those who publicly supported Sutton when he had 798 career victories presumably still support him now that he reached 800 last Saturday.

Sutton has his supporters.

Problem is, not enough of them are voters.

The Hall of Fame selection process is an annual gathering of screening committees and an honor committee of unnamed members.

There are no set criteria to gain entry. No magic victory number secures automatic induction for a coach. The number 800 guarantees nothing.

Last year was Sutton's best chance for induction. He fell shy of the necessary votes and his chances fade a little more each year.

There might come a time when the class of candidates is not particularly strong and Sutton will gain entry.

That's a possibility, but not a certainty.

The reason for omitting Sutton from the Hall has not changed, and will not change, even though he came out of retirement at midseason to coach at San Francisco.

What transpired at Kentucky will forever be Sutton's downfall.

Sutton's malfeasance at UK was 20 years ago, but it might as well have been yesterday.

Under Sutton's watch, Kentucky was slapped with three years probation for violations that included cash provided to prospective student-athlete, academic fraud, unethical conduct and lack of institutional control.

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