OSU’s strategy: Have fun but win
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. — Brad Underwood leaned way back in a courtside folding chair inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, one leg crossed over the other, smiling and joking as his Cowboys prepped before taking off for Indianapolis and the NCAA Tournament.
So, who is this guy, and who abducted the gruff and grumpy practice coach who barked at his basketball squad for months?
Meet the new Brad Underwood.
The postseason Brad Underwood.
After grinding since summer, conditioning and working through dog days of drills, then pushing through a wild ride of a season, Oklahoma State arrives at Friday’s clash with Michigan with one primary charge: Have fun. “You dream big and have fun and enjoy the moment, because it goes fast,” Underwood said. “It flies by. You want to make sure your kids have this memory to last forever.”
Yes, winning an NCAA Tournament game would
maximize the memory, especially for seniors Phil Forte and Leyton Hammonds, who get one last chance at NCAA success.
And no, the Cowboys haven’t relaxed — not physically — with hard practices and dedicated film sessions the daily routine leading into Friday.
Yet with Underwood, there’s significant strategic method to what may seem like a sudden case of March madness. He believes that to play good, you have to play loose.
“It’s critical to playing at a peak level,” Underwood said. “You’ve got to find a way to get to that next spot. That’s where memories happen. That’s where magic happens.
“It’s no different than the Olympics, where guys PR (personal record) and post world records. It’s the Olympics. It’s that time. You’re at the right place mentally. You’re able to learn. You’ve done all the work. Now go perform at the highest level. Part of that is having fun.”
The Cowboys haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2009, losing four straight in the opening round since, never quite looking right; mostly looking tight.
All four losses featured ragged play, rough starts and poor shooting. OSU’s go-to guys — James Anderson, Marcus Smart, Markel Brown, Le’Bryan Nash — became suddenly unrecognizable.
These Cowboys figure to have to perform at a level equaling their season’s best, maybe better, to beat a Michigan squad that is the higher seed and favored by oddsmakers to win. So Underwood is stressing free and loose. And fun.
“You’ve got to enjoy it,” Forte said. “You’ve got to stay loose. And the day of the game, you lock into the game plan the best you can.
“Coach Underwood has been preaching all week, get lost in the moment, lost in the game and everything will take care of itself.”
Underwood, too, has been implanting confidence into his team from the start. The rise of Jeffrey Carroll and Davon Dillard, the next-level play of Jawun Evans, getting production from several freshmen — all are products of a buy-in that began last spring.
“He’s been a pretty confident dude,” Carroll said. “If we miss a few shots in a workout and start to get down, he’ll say, ‘Don’t do that, you’re a great player.’ Those kind of comments will take a player a long way. He’s taken this whole team and put that confidence in us, and we’ve run with it.”
Coaching changes don’t always go so smoothly. Veterans can be skeptical and resistant to new voices. Everything becomes new for everyone, on the floor and off, from the practice plan to work in the weight room to the coaching philosophy to how you travel.
“It’s human nature to always have a little bit of doubt when there’s change,” Underwood said. “Because, ‘Maybe I’m not going to like this.’ Or, it may look good up front, but when you dive in it’s not what you thought it was.”
Yet Underwood hung on to the previous staff’s recruits, re-recruited Forte and never faced any threat of a bailout, not even when the season turned bumpy early in Big 12 Conference play.
“It would have been pretty easy to have some doubt when we were 0-6,” Underwood said. “That speaks of who they are as people, and of their character.”
It speaks also of the players’ belief in Underwood.
“He’s a winning coach,” Evans said. “For some teams, it takes time to buy in. But he’s made it easy on us, with his message and in practice. Some days it’s hard, but we took it on. And we’ve become what he says, everyday guys.”
Forte said last March, when Underwood was hired, that he came back to get what’s been an elusive NCAA Tournament win at OSU. Hammonds, too.
For them, it would be fun to win.
“I want it for them,” Underwood said. “It could be the greatest moment of their life. Phil’s 3-point record and all that, it’s names in a book. Winning games in the NCAA Tournament, that will be memories that you’ll tell your kids and grandkids about.
“That’s what this tournament is about. It’s that magical.”