BY PAUL GOTHAM
BROOKLYN — Move over Ali Farokhmanesh and Kevin Pittsnogle, Thomas Walkup has this NCAA Tournament’s version of a surname begging to be used as a verb.
Walkup has a name to remember and game to go with it. Friday night, he torched No. 3-seed West Virginia for 33 points in a convincing 70-56 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Thomas does whatever it takes to win,” third-year S.F. Austin coach Brad Underwood said. “He’s one of the most resourceful, efficient players I’ve ever coached….As basketball IQs go, there’s no one — I’ll put him against anybody that has a higher basketball IQ and feel for the game.”
With an old-school game Walkup and teammates picked apart the Mountaineers.
“Just playing downhill and being aggressive,” the Pasadena, Texas native said. “I do kind of have a traditional game. The game revolves around the three-point shot so much these days that a guy like me drives it so aggressively and so often. I like physicality. I like contact and inside play.”
Get caught standing straight up and the 6-4 guard/forward will blow by you off the dribble. Stare at the ball a little too long, and he slips back door. Forget to make contact on the shot, and he’s by you for the rebound and putback.
“The entire game we were just being aggressive,” Walkup noted. “We were really trying to attack the rim. We knew that they fouled a lot. That was part our game plan to really put them on their heels instead of what they do to people, put them on their heels.”
And oh yeah, he can convert free throws. Nineteen of twenty to be exact in the upset win. West Virginia as a team hit 21 of 27.
Averaging 17.5 points a game with 6.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists, the fifth-year senior claimed Southland Conference (SLC) Player of the Year for a second straight season – the first player to repeat in 23 years. At the same time, he earned a spot on the All-SLC Defensive for the third year in a row.
“He’s a deceiving athlete,” Underwood explained. “He’s strong so he can guard multiple people… His versatility is a big part of our success.”
Walkup’s high school career was one characterized by injury. He tore his ACL during his freshman year and then again later that summer. He broke his foot during his 12th-grade year and landed at S.F. Austin where he received his only Division I from former coach, Danny Kaspar. Walkup broke the foot again before his college career started. He redshirted his first year on campus. Kaspar left after the 2012-13 season.
Walkup’s production almost tripled the next year from 4.4 to 13.1 points a game.
He has started every game since the 2013-14.
“Our new coaching staff, they really evolved my game,” Walkup stated. “The biggest key has been confidence. Confident in the skill work over the years has grown. Our coaches are always pulling us in the gym. Coach (Assistant Stephen) Gentry has been incredible with really helping me take my game to the next level. Helping me play with confidence.
“At the free throw line,” he said of a specific area of improvement. “I had been getting fouled a lot. I had the ball in my hands a lot. That’s one thing statistically our coaches have shown me is how much I do get fouled. I am at the foul line a lot and I have to capitalize.”
Friday’s victory over West Virginia was S.F. Austin’s second NCAA Tournament win in three years. The Lumberjacks will go for the school’s first spot in the Sweet Sixteen when they meet No. 6 Notre Dame on Sunday.
“We’ve played against a lot of talented guys,” Irish head coach Mike Brey said referring to ND’s ACC schedule. “We have not played against a guy who has a better or higher basketball IQ than him. He really has a feel for the game.
“I have the utmost respect for that because that’s how we’ve kind of built our program with basketball IQ guys, but his stuff is the kind of you see with a crafty NBA veteran who’s been in the league 10 or 12 years who just takes advantage of young guys. He’s involved with everything they do and then leads. Just a fabulous player, and he’s going to be hard to deal with. We can’t guard him with just one guy. A couple different guys are going to have to guard him.”
Earlier this season, Walkup recorded SFA’s first triple-double in 43 years with a 12-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist performance against Incarnate Word.
Walkup has already completed a bachelor’s degree in finance and is in the process of adding another in marketing.
S.F. Austin and Notre Dame will tip off 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Villanova – Iowa game.
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