Stephen F. Austin is legit, has a star who looks like a real Lumberjack
Thomas Walkup is an NCAA tourney star.
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2 min read
NEW YORK -- Come March, who doesn't love a good small-college team named after a dead guy?
Stephen F. Austin is your latest NCAA Tournament crush thanks to its utter domination of West Virginia on Friday night. The 14-seed Lumberjacks showed why they have the No. 1 turnover defense in America. A 70-56 final. Chop, chop, chop.
West Virginia, which beat the likes of Kansas and Iowa State this season, couldn't figure out SFA. The Lumberjacks induced West Virginia into 22 turnovers, giving Press Virginia a lethal dose of its own medicine. It wasn't a beatdown; it was a chokehold. WVU had 27 fouls.
The best part about the Lumberjacks is their senior star, a guy named Thomas Walkup, who is absolutely jacked. He actually looks like a lumberjack. And he's got that Bryce Harper hair going, which is matched with a logger's beard. He can be the poster boy for this tournament.
Walkup was running all over the place on Friday, showing why he's one of the best small-conference players in America. Big shots, big steals, huge rebounds and a physique that can match almost anyone in college hoops.
Instant March star.
Walkup finished with a game-high 33 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. He came in Friday averaging 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
And he can absolutely get the Lumberjacks into the Sweet 16.
He said afterward that he has not shaved his beard since November. It's been a superstition. You see, SFA hasn't lost since Dec. 29. Walkup also said he told his mom he'd get a haircut before the tournament so that 'do is brand new, only five days old.
It's great to have a name like "Walkup." It's strong. It's unafraid. Combine that name with a guy who looks like he chops down trees for fun -- and with one arm -- and you've got a player who a nation can rally around. His team doesn't need him to carry it, but he's brawny enough to do it.
"This is not something I'm surprised by," SFA assistant coach Mike Boynton, Jr. said in a hot and happy locker room afterward.
He was speaking to both the win and Walkup's play. The guy has been amazing all year.
Stevie Austin has dominated the Southland over the past three years. Brad Underwood tied Brad Stevens' record on Friday night, getting the 89th win of his career, which matches the former Butler coach for the most in three seasons to start a coaching career. Underwood told me on Friday that it wasn't fun to go up against his old boss, Bob Huggins, as Huggins is someone he "reveres." Underwood was happy to have the game over.
Underwood now has two NCAA Tournament wins in three years. He won't be coaching at Stephen F. Austin much longer; he's way too good, and every athletic director with an opening should be putting a phone call in for him right now.
Middle Tennessee knocking off No. 2 Michigan State was the story of the day on Friday, but Stephen F. Austin can become the Cinderella of the weekend by Sunday afternoon. It has the defense, the coaching and the shatterproof, unshakable senior star to give us another March glory story.
