When Arkansas State's season ended in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament with an 85-63 loss to North Texas, it brought a long, frustrating season to a merciful close.

The Indians tied a school record with 20 losses, won only five conference games and one road game. Before it was all over, coach Dickey Nutt resigned with two weeks left in the season after 13 seasons on the job when he learned he would not receive a contract extension.

To their credit, the Indians had several chances to give up on the season but never did.

"They've been through a lot. They've been through more than any basketball team that I've been associated with in 10 years," co-interim coach Shawn Forrest said. "I'm proud for their effort and I'm proud for them keeping their heads up and fighting through this whole situation."

Whoever replaces Nutt will lose only two seniors, including leading scorer Adrian Banks. The new coach will also get a clean start without Banks, who was often more trouble than he was worth as a senior.

As of tournament time, the only thing certain about the coaching search is that former coach Nolan Richardson will not be the new coach. Richardson met with ASU officials about the possibility of returning to coach but pulled his name from consideration, saying the situation was not a "good fit."

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