Two years ago, Brad Underwood coached the men’s basketball team at Stephen F. Austin and Brandon Schneider headed the women’s basketball program. Now they’re both coaching in the Big 12, Underwood at Oklahoma State, Schneider at Kansas.
Underwood qualifies as KU coach Bill Self’s stiffest competition for Big 12 coach of the year honors. The Cowboys have won 10 of 12 games, the exceptions being a three-point loss to Baylor in Stillwater, Okla., on Feb. 8 and a three-point loss Monday at Iowa State.
Count Schneider among those not surprised that Underwood is off to such a terrific start.
When coaching at Emporia State, Schneider made a practice of visiting other coaches’ practices as a means of making his own more efficient. Typically, he found men’s coaches, who never would have to face him, more open to the idea than women’s coaches.
“I got to watch coach Self and Roy (Williams) here,” Schneider said, “Eddie Sutton (at Oklahoma State) and Kelvin Sampson (at Oklahoma), Mike Anderson at Missouri. When Brad came to Stephen F., watching those guys, he was as good as I’d seen. He’s really, really good and just a great human being. It’s nice to see him doing well.”
Kansas faces Oklahoma State for a 5 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Stillwater.
The Jayhawks (27-3, 15-2 in the Big 12, No. 1 in the nation) will try to break a three-game Stillwater losing streak against the Cowboys (20-10, 9-8, second among “others receiving votes”), who lead the Big 12 in scoring (85.6 points per game) and second to Kansas (40.8) with a 40.6 3-point percentage.
