Might they echo again, louder and prouder, later this year at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame?

They continue now whenever Eddie Sutton returns to the court that carries his name.

When Oklahoma State basketball was going really good, chants inside Gallagher-Iba Arena sang out in salute of the Cowboys bench.

Sutton’s candidacy regained steam Friday, when the former Cowboys coach joined 13 others as finalists for the Hall of Fame class of 2016. Sutton has been a finalist four times before, last in 2014, before being omitted from consideration a year ago.

"Our family is excited for him," said Sean Sutton, who played and coached under his father at OSU. "We hope this will be the year that they’ll finally induct him. I think that he’s very deserving if you look at all the accomplishments he’s had as a basketball coach, even going back to high school. We feel like he’s certainly done enough.

"His former players feel that way as well. Just keep our fingers crossed that at the Final Four, he’ll be one of the names announced for the 2016 class."

Conversation surrounding Eddie's candidacy perked up recently when former Sutton player and current CBS Sports analyst Doug Gottlieb made a plea for his former coach in an open letter to the Naismith committee, published on the CBSSports.com website in January.