Second son will join Nutt as walk-on at Southeast

~ Logan Nutt is enrolled at Southeast and will join the Redhawks next season

The Southeast Missouri State men's basketball program has become even more of a family affair under first-year coach Dickey Nutt.

Nutt's oldest son, Logan, transferred from the University of Mississippi to Southeast for the second semester and recently began practicing with the Redhawks.

Logan, a 5-foot-11 point guard, will have to sit out a full calendar year under NCAA transfer rules and won't be eligible to play for Southeast until December of next season.

Dickey Nutt said he couldn't be happier to now have both his sons in the Southeast program as walk-ons. Nutt's youngest son, Lucas, is a freshman point guard who played in nine games before suffering a season-ending foot injury.

"Over the holidays Logan came home and we had a heart-to-heart talk," Dickey Nutt said. "We're a very, very close family. He just wanted to come home and be around our program whether he played or not.

"He'll be just like anybody else. He'll be a walk-on and have to earn everything he gets. He knows there are no guarantees. But he told me 'Dad, I think we're going to do something special here and I want to be a part of it.' It brings tears to my eyes."

Nutt said Lucas, who was leading the Ohio Valley Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at the time of his injury, was elated about Logan's decision.

"They're best friends. They're inseparable. The same with our daughter [Lexis, a student at Central High School]," Dickey Nutt said. "My wife [Cathy] and I feel very fortunate they have that type of relationship. Right now we're going to enjoy that time.

"Logan actually questioned why he didn't come here to begin with, but he had already made the commitment to Ole Miss and coach Andy Kennedy before I got the job here [in March]."

Logan was a junior walk-on at Mississippi this year. He played sparingly for the 15-4, 18th-ranked Rebels, appearing in four games and scoring three points. He was bothered by back problems, which could allow him to regain this season of eligibility as a medical redshirt.

"He may be able to get that year back, If not he'll just have the one semester [to play at Southeast], but regardless, he's just happy to be here," Dickey Nutt said. "He wants to eventually be a coach and be a part of this program."

Logan played his freshman season in 2007-08 under his father at Arkansas State, appearing in 25 games and averaging 1.6 points.

After Dickey Nutt was let go at Arkansas State, Logan transferred to Missouri State-West Plains junior college. He averaged. 5.1 points and 4.2 assists last season and broke a school record when he dished out 14 assists in one game.

"He's got a lot of experience," Dickey Nutt said. "You can never have too many smart players on your team.

"Toughness and smarts, that's what he brings."