DALLAS -- There were a handful of days the past nine months when Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton would let the day go without thinking about the plane crash in January that killed 10 members of the program.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Sutton had to be the strong one. He made the calls to the families and went to the funerals and memorial services. And in the days, weeks and months that followed, there were times when he could pass for doing OK. But there were others, like at the Final Four or at the memorial at the crash site in late August, when he simply looked worn.

	“	We're constantly preaching to our players to always look forward, not look back. I think practicing will help us because the guys will be concentrating on playing and on their books. ”
		— Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma State head coach

Sutton was returning to his normalcy as best he could until September 11. The four plane crashes, one in Pennsylvania, two into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon in the worst terrorist strike against the U.S., brought back the horror he felt when one of the three Oklahoma State chartered planes didn't make it back from Colorado to Stillwater on a snowy Saturday night in late January.

"The recent tragedy in Washington and New York opened wounds again," said Sutton during a gathering of Big 12 coaches in Dallas last week. "I didn't have anyone that I knew, but I knew a lot of people that had friends. I went some days without thinking about last season's accident, but it's been on my mind a lot the last few days."

Sutton said the Cowboys, of which all but one player returned from last season's team, have had similar feelings in the past few weeks.

"We're constantly preaching to our players to always look forward, not look back," Sutton said of a team that is expected to be an NCAA Tournament team again and rank 16th in ESPN.com's preseason top 25. "I think practicing will help us because the guys will be concentrating on playing and on their books."

The players were obviously devastated in the days after they played a game in Colorado and then landed in Stillwater only to learn two teammates, a coach, a manager and their sports information director were among those who died in the plane crash. There was grief, shock, anger and plenty of tears in the ensuing weeks in private and during a moving memorial service, which included a poignant tribute by teammate Andre Williams. But the team found a way to go on with life, taking a week off before resuming with an emotionally-charged home win over Missouri the following Monday.

"I wasn't sure we would be able to finish the season," Sutton said. "It wrecked our ballclub for days. We lost 10 wonderful men. But I'm so proud of the fact that they displayed a lot of character. They showed a lot of class by how they pulled together. It was a down year for us. We still won 20 games and we got to the NCAA Tournament. And all of that was a great part in the healing for us. But that (the crash) will never leave us. It will always be a part of us."

Sutton said he couldn't comprehend the tragedy on the 11th. But he welcomes anyone who would ever want to have him or the team visit with people who lost loved ones if that would help.

Sutton was in New York a few weeks before the tragedy, speaking to a collection of businessmen. He said he told them about the pledge he took the day after the Oklahoma State plane crash. He promised himself that as long as he lives he would call his three sons every day and tell them how much he loved them.

"The next day we went to the U.S. Open and all of them came up to me and told me they called their son or daughter," Sutton said. "I hope everyone adopts that philosophy. We need to be appreciative of what we have and that we live in this great country."

The plane crash in January actually energized Sutton once he could get through his grief. He saw the tragedy as a way he could continue to help "young people" in some form. He was convinced that he doesn't want nor should he be forced to leave coaching anytime soon.

"There were times the last two or three years that I thought I should step aside," said Sutton, 65, who signed a contract extension last year. "But since that happened I have my batteries recharged. We're recruiting (high school) juniors now and I've told them that I'll coach five more years, and if my health continues to be good and I'm enthusiastic, then I'll coach even more.

"There aren't too many dinosaurs left in this business -- John Chaney, Lute Olson, Gene Keady, (Jerry) Tarkanian. But I enjoy coaching, and I really feel like I can help these guys get prepared for everything in life."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.