Brad Underwood Using Navy SEALs to Make OSU Hoops Rock Again

Make me more excited about Oklahoma State basketball, Brad. You can’t do it. It’s impossible. I’m sure everyone knows by now I was driving the Doug Gottlieb train last spring at about 110 MPH, but that doesn’t mean I’m not in on Brad Underwood. He has won me over with his record at SFA. He has won me over with his systems. He has won me over in the first few days of fall practice.

Underwood had his squad workout with some Navy SEALs this week at 5 a.m., and he’s preaching defense at Eddie Sutton-like levels, it seems.

“I have heard about it being done and heard a lot of positives about that,” Underwood told Go Pokes. “I am a big Navy SEALs fan, in terms of reading and so forth. I admire how they go about doing their job. I felt like it could benefit our team and help bring them together. Again, it’s an outside voice that sometimes is very, very beneficial. They’re going to hear me a lot here for the next five, six months, so hearing a different perspective can be very beneficial.

“But there were so many teachable moments from the SEALs. It’s not just raising your voice, it’s about following directions and being able to lead. The leadership concepts and the selfless mentality you have to have through that process, when you’re holding a teammate up in the pool, those things are what team building is about. That’s something we thrive on and stress a great deal. They just heard it from a different voice than mine.”

As for that defense. Underwood said it’s all his team practiced over the first two days (#MakeGIARockAgain)

“We went all defense today,” said Underwood. “We’ll do the same thing tomorrow. We’re going to become a very good defensive team. We have tremendous athleticism. We have to maximize effort, and I thought our guys did that today.”

It's no secret that @OSUCoachBrad is a defense-first coach, and that's exactly what the first 2 practices have been all about. #okstate pic.twitter.com/bVOQJ1ftlz

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) October 3, 2016

This is refreshing to hear on a number of levels. Underwood said he rolled out of bed at 4:30 a.m. on the first day of practice because he was so giddy. To me, the prevailing characteristic of most successful folks in the sports world is whether they love what they do. Do they like it, or do they love it. Underwood seems to love coaching hoops. He also seems to know what he’s doing and do it quite well. Most importantly, he has a fanbase that has not been excited about hoops recently excited for the first time in a long time. I can’t wait for the season.