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There were two offers coming out of high school: Houston Baptist and Stephen F. Austin.
Whew — Thomas Walkup certainly chose wisely.
While the Huskies have struggled through their seventh straight losing season, the Lumberjacks are dancing for the second time in as many seasons. Walkup, now a junior who is SFA's leading scorer, scored a combined 29 points over Houston Baptist in a pair of overpowering wins this year — just two victories in a very, very long string of them.
Utah's first-round NCAA Tournament opponent is a winner. Stephen F. Austin (29-4) has won 28 of its last 29 games, and the last time it lost back-to-back games was in November. True, they haven't beaten anybody big yet, but that makes this Lumberjacks team all the more hungry for an opening round upset like the one they scored in 2014 against VCU.
Teams that win as many games as they do aren't really underdogs, but the Jacks are happy to play the role this week.
"We're not content to win our conference," senior forward Jacob Parker said. "The whole goal isn't just to get to the tournament but win a game. Me and Thomas, we came in the same year, and we wanted to put SFA on the map and let everyone know where Nacogdoches is."
In case you haven't come across this eastern Texas town of 33,000 people, it's the home of the Stephen F. Austin campus. A town saying: The only thing harder than pronouncing Nah-co-do-ches is spelling it (the silent "g" is a killer).
But William R. Johnson Coliseum has been host to some pretty good basketball over the past two seasons. Ever since coach Brad Underwood, a former assistant to Frank Martin, joined the program, the Lumberjacks have set numerous program records and gone 61-7 while winning the Southland Conference in back-to-back years.
This team shoots well (49.1 percent from the field, No. 5 nationally), passes better than any team in the country (first in assists per game) and makes its opponents pay on defense (plus-3.2 in turnover margin). Sharing the ball, Walkup said, comes naturally.
"We have a lot of guys who can do multiple things: shoot it, drive it, pass it," he said. "When you have guys who can do so many things at once, you can share the ball really well."
Just as importantly, the Jacks have dealt with the mental challenges of being the team everyone wants to beat.
"We embrace the pressure," Parker said. "Throughout our conference, we're taking everybody's best shot."
The Lumberjacks had three games in a row against stiff competition in their non-conference season, and went 0-3 against Northern Iowa, Xavier and Baylor — the only tournament teams they played. But they've come a long way since then: They have a few newcomers and freshmen who have worked their way into meaningful roles.
The NCAA Tournament means a lot to these guys: Parker's mother flew on a plane for the first time in 20 years from his small town in Oklahoma to watch SFA's tourney run last year. Walkup's family has been to a few, when his older brother played at Texas A&M, but there's no bigger event in the household.
Then there's Nacogdoches itself, which filled up the arena for SFA's championship win over Sam Houston State. The South region's second weekend site is a two-hour drive to Houston, which already has the fans buzzing hopefully.
The Lumberjacks want to return that faith.
"I'm so glad I ended up here," Walkup said. "The fans are amazing. It's a dream come true to have this opportunity to make some noise."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
NCAA Tournament
O No. 5 Utah vs. No. 12 Stephen F. Austin
At the Moda Center, Portland, Ore.
Thursday, 5:27 p.m. MT
TV • Tru TV —
Stephen F. Austin at a glance
• 29-4 overall, 17-1 in Southland Conference play
• Southland Conference regular season and tournament champions
• No. 5 in FG percentage (49.1)
• No. 1 in assists per game (17.8 apg)
• No. 5 in opposing turnover rate (23 percent)
• Key players: Junior guard Thomas Walkup (15.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 3.7 apg); senior forward Jacob Parker (14.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
• Made it to Round of 32 in 2014, beat VCU, lost to UCLA