Stephen F. Austin firmly above radar after NCAA run

Stephen F. Austin won 29 straight games and 32 overall last season in Brad Underwood’s first year as coach.

It was the final game of that win streak that vaulted the school from Nacogdoches, Texas, into the college basketball spotlight.

A dramatic NCAA Tournament win over Virginia Commonwealth, the first in school history, vaulted the Lumberjacks into the sport’s lexicon. It also may have put a target squarely on the front of the jerseys this season as the team looks to continue the unprecedented success.

“All you have to do is read the other team’s newspaper articles and the team’s quotes before we play. There’s no question we’re getting that, and we’re having to deal with that,” Underwood said after his team’s practice Wednesday at Orleans Arena. “We’re going to deal with that all year long, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, and yet there has to be a maturity that goes with that and an expectation, and that’s something we’re trying to work our way through literally on an everyday basis.”

That process continues when Stephen F. Austin (1-3) plays Prairie View A&M (0-5) in the Las Vegas Invitational at 6 p.m. today.

It’s not just taking the opponent’s best shot that has led to three losses already for the Lumberjacks. The schedule hasn’t helped.

Stephen F. Austin lost at home to Northern Iowa in overtime as part of ESPN’s 24-hour college basketball marathon.

There also were losses on the road against Xavier, a game that was essentially even with five minutes to play, and Baylor.

“We want to continue to build our program through playing tough people,” Underwood said. “We just try to get better each and every day. We have new faces and a new identity, but the one thing we’re obviously not doing is sneaking up on anybody.”

While Underwood returned seven of his top 10 players from last year’s team, he’s still trying to work several new pieces into the rotation.

There was no thought to trying to ease that process by lightening the early-season schedule.

“I liken it to being a surgeon in residency,” Underwood said. “If all you do is tonsillectomies, you’re not going to get any better. Every now and then, you have to step in and do a heart surgery and a brain surgery. You’ve got to volunteer for those things so you can learn. This team is getting better every single day.

“I like this team a lot. We’ve got some depth, some better athleticism and firepower that we didn’t have last year. We’re learning on the fly, and we’ve got to continue to grow and realize who we are.”

One of the reasons Underwood is so confident in his team’s development is that his best players are also two of his hardest workers.

The coach raved about Jacob Parker and Thomas Walkup, who both had breakout seasons and also were among the most improved over the summer.

Parker, a senior forward, was named the Southland Conference player of the year last season. Walkup, a guard-forward, had a great sophomore year and truly emerged in the postseason, when he earned Most Valuable Player honors at the league tournament and recorded double-doubles in two NCAA Tournament games.

Both players were recently named to Bleacher Report’s list of the 20 most fundamentally sound players in college basketball, an honor Underwood called “well deserved.”

They’ve also provided leadership in convincing the newcomers that last year’s success isn’t guaranteed again.

“I never had to worry about the veterans,” Underwood said. “They were unbelievable in that way. They’re our hardest-working guys. It’s been more of a challenge with the new guys getting them to understand that just because we won some games last year, that’s over. That goes away. We lost some pieces to that team, but we’ve got to continue to forge our own identity and personality.”

In the other game on Stephen F. Austin’s half of the bracket, Austin Peay will play Brown at 11 a.m. today. In other games, Illinois will play Indiana State at 2 p.m., and Baylor will meet Memphis at 9.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.