FAYETTEVILLE -- Joe Kleine was going into his redshirt sophomore season as a University of Arkansas basketball player in 1982 after transferring from Notre Dame when he learned his father, Robert, had been diagnosed with leukemia.
"It was tough being young and having to experience that for the first time, the possible death of a family member," Kleine recalled on Sunday. "I had some pretty dark days."
Kleine said Eddie Sutton, his coach at Arkansas, helped him deal with his father's illness.
"Coach Sutton and I had some really good talks, and that meant everything to me," Kleine said.