Oklahoma State hires former K-State player, coach Brad Underwood

Brad Underwood will replace Travis Ford as Oklahoma State’s basketball coach.

Kansas State fans are sure to have mixed reactions to the news.

Underwood, a McPherson native who played at K-State and served as an assistant for the Wildcats under Bob Huggins and Frank Martin, agreed to leave Stephen F. Austin after three successful seasons on Monday. Though many K-State fans will be happy for the man they used to cheer at Bramlage Coliseum, they will not enjoy watching the Wildcats play Underwood and the Cowboys twice each season.

Some were so impressed by Underwood and what he accomplished at Stephen F. Austin – he went 89-14 in three seasons, guiding the Lumberjacks to three Southland Conference championships and three NCAA Tournaments, where he won two games – that they made a social media push to try and convince K-State athletic officials to hire him before Oklahoma State could.

Hundreds of tweets including the hashtag #BringBackBrad have been posted on Twitter by K-State fans since Notre Dame defeated Stephen F. Austin on a last-second shot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

But they had no impact. K-State remains confident in coach Bruce Weber, who will return for his fifth season after going 79-54 with a share of a Big 12 championship in his first four. The Wildcats chose Weber over Underwood and other candidates when Martin left for South Carolina. Now, Underwood is headed to Oklahoma State for his first crack at a head-coaching job in a Power 5 conference.

“There’s not enough adjectives to describe how excited I am for the opportunity to coach where some of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball have cut their teeth,” Underwood said in a statement released by OSU. “Oklahoma State has unparalleled tradition, history and culture.

“The fan support, the noise and the home-court advantage is what I remember most about Gallagher-Iba Arena, and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of that now. I played in Gallagher-Iba back in the Big Eight days, and then going back as an opposing coach, I can tell you that it’s one of the best venues in the nation. We’re going to have a lot of fun, and I’m excited as heck about the opportunity to get to know the community of Stillwater, and the OSU family.”

He will be introduced at a Wednesday news conference.

Underwood, 52, will have a team ready to win if he can convince guards Jawun Evans and Phil Forte to return. Both gifted scorers missed long portions of this past season with injuries, resulting in a 12-20 record.

The Cowboys moved quickly to hire Underwood. Ford was fired on Friday.

“I named three things that I was looking for in the new head basketball coach at Oklahoma State: character, coaching style and fit,” OSU athletic director Mike Holder said in a statement. “Brad Underwood gets the highest marks in each of those categories. He played in the Big Eight for Jack Hartman, a disciple of Henry Iba. He has coached and recruited in the Big 12, and has been very successful as a head coach in one of our prime recruiting grounds in the state of Texas.”

Iba, Oklahoma A&M’s legend, coached future K-State coach Jack Hartman in the 1940s. Hartman coached Underwood at K-State in the mid-1980s.

Underwood’s success at K-State, where he helped the Wildcats reach the postseason six straight seasons, including an Elite Eight run in 2010, was a factor.

“K-State is a sister institution with Oklahoma State in a lot of ways,” Holder added, “so anyone who graduates from there and lives in Manhattan is probably going to connect quickly with our fans and our people. And as for character, everyone around him speaks of him as the great friend, father and person he is. In my opinion, Brad Underwood is going to be a great fit for Oklahoma State.”

Underwood was one of the hottest names on the coaching market. He landed, arguably, the best opening available.

The job will take him to Manhattan once a year for a conference game. His first return trip to Bramlage Coliseum will be strange for everyone involved.

Then again, K-State fans are used to seeing former players and coaches on the opposing sideline. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger’s name hangs from the rafters at K-State games, and West Virginia coach Bob Huggins spent one season in Manhattan.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Oklahoma State hires former K-State player, coach Brad Underwood."