Former Kansas State basketball guard Dominique Sutton is still loves the game, which is why he joined Purple Reign in The Basketball Tournament.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Dominique Sutton got a call from former Kansas State basketball teammate Jordan Henriquez-Roberts this spring, the last thing on his mind was taking the court again in The Basketball Tournament.
But when Henriquez-Roberts, general manager of Purple Reign, K-State's TBT alumni team, asked if he was interested in joining the team for a reunion of sorts, he was intrigued. At the very least it was an opportunity to reconnect with a bunch of ex-Wildcats for the first time since he left Manhattan in 2010.
"I think JO reached out just to kind of see where I was at, with the head space and body-wise," said Sutton, who will turn 39 years old in October. "I told him, 'I'll play. Why not?' Let's get the gang back together maybe one more last time.
"We enjoy each other as old teammates, and going out and competing and playing hard, that was the most hope of everything."
Sutton, who helped K-State reach the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight in 2010, came back to Kansas and then joined Purple Reign for the TBT Kansas City regional last week at Municipal Auditorium. He scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a first-round come-from-behind victory over The Shine but only had five points in his team's 59-57 semifinal loss to Kansas alumni JHX Hoops.
Sutton, a 6-foot-5 wing player from Durham, North Carolina, was the oldest member of a Purple Reign team that also included former Wildcat teammate point guard Jacob Pullen, K-State's all-time leading scorer. But there also was Henriquez-Roberts and coaches Clent Stewart and Curtis Kelly who overlapped with his time in Manhattan.
Then there were the younger players who followed him at K-State, plus a few recruits from other schools.
"Being around the young guys, man, trying to keep me young a little bit — keep me in tune, keep me locked in," Sutton said with a smile. "But the main thing is I came out there to see JO (Henriquez-Roberts), Curt (Kelly) and Pullen. I haven't seen those guys in probably the last nine, 10 years.
"So, just to come back and be with my guys again and the camaraderie and brotherhood and coming back to Kansas. It's been (a long time) since I've been back in Kansas."
A lot changed in the last year for Sutton to end up on the court in Kansas City. At the end of his professional season overseas in March of 2024, he thought his playing career was over.
Then this past January he got a call from a former team, Al-Ahli in Bahrain.
"I was done with basketball," said Sutton, who has played professionally in the NBA G League as well as in Greece, Italy, Germany, France, Lithuania, Spain and Indonesia among other countries. "I got a phone call from them, and I told them I hadn't played basketball in 10, 11 months, and they were like, 'We don't care. We just want you back,' because I had previously won a championship there in 2020."
Sutton had an immediate impact, helping the team battle back into the playoffs before falling in the championship series.
"It kind of gave me life again," Sutton said. "It gave me the passion for basketball back that I was missing, and it kind of carries over to here, to be able to come back and compete with these young guys and try to lead these guys and show them with my play."
Pullen, who missed the loss to JHX Hoops with an injury, was impressed with Sutton's performance.
"Dom is in great shape," Pullen said. "He still has a love for the game."
Now that he got a taste of the TBT, and given his success in Bahrain, Sutton could see him returning next year with Purple Reign.
"I think I've got one more in me," he said, flashing a broad smile. "Playing with these guys and watching them grow and the pain after (last Monday's) loss, man, it's supposed to hurt.
"But it was a fun experience playing against KU. They date back to when I was here and it's always a fun experience. That's another one for the record outside of actual college."
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Ex-Kansas State basketball guard Dominique Sutton feels young again
Category: General Sports
