Oklahoma State basketball: Brad Underwood officially introduced as Cowboys new coach

STILLWATER — Mike Holder casually slipped deep down into a metal-framed chair fit more for some cubicle than the backside of an athletic director powerful enough to lure a billionaire into becoming a big booster.

Then Holder, seemingly always so calculated, tossed out a quirky word to explain the sudden marriage of Brad Underwood and Oklahoma State.

Serendipity.

Holder moved quick and struck fast in plugging Underwood into its men’s basketball coaching vacancy, with news of the hiring breaking barely 24 hours after the coach’s Stephen F. Austin team was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament.

Turns out, they only had eyes for each other, despite the lack of a formal introduction.

Thus, the serendipitous coming together.

Holder focused in on Underwood “quite a while back,” recognizing the fit of personality and community he considered so important to this hire through extensive homework. Even before Travis Ford’s firing was official, Holder had made up his mind that Underwood was the one.

“Before he ever came up here, he knew he wanted the job,” Holder said. “Before I ever sat down with him, I knew I wanted to hire him.”

All true, even if Underwood was a Wildcat. You see, Underwood admired OSU for decades, having been intoxicated on the place and the history by his Kansas State coach and former Cowboy Jack Hartman. And by visits to K-State practices by Henry P. Iba himself.

“I’m a purist that way,” Underwood said Wednesday. “This is one of the top programs in America, and it’s because of that. I dream big. To go someplace else and have to try to create… can’t do that. It’s impossible.”

So when Underwood calls OSU a dream destination, he’s not just playing to the crowd.

“I don’t like using the term old-school, but winning is very important to me, and there are challenges that are in place when you don’t have culture and you don’t have a fan base who understands what it’s about,” he said Wednesday. “When I was a player in the Big Eight and when I was back in it in the Big 12, this was one of the greatest places to play. It gives you a great opportunity to win, and that means a great deal to me.

“This fits who I am, who my wife is. I grew up in a town of 13,000 people (McPherson, Kan.), and I’m comfortable and it’s friendly. I love to go to the coffee shop and say hello. That’s who I am. I don’t need a lot of extra stuff; the occasional golf course every now and then, but it fit me. That’s what excites me.

“And when you throw all of the history, pageantry and tradition, this was meant for me.”

Maybe if Johnny Orr had been the coach at Kansas State back in the mid-80s, or Norm Stewart, Holder would have been introducing another coach on Wednesday. Or still searching for the right fit.

“The way Brad was raised and the way Jack Hartman coached and talked about Mr. Iba and Oklahoma State, don’t kid yourself, that’s the main reason we’re here today,” Holder said. “That had a profound effect on Brad.”

Serendipity.

“No question,” Underwood said. “I appreciate history and the greatness of this conference. But yeah, that was a big part of it.

“I’ll never forget Coach Iba sitting at that scorer’s table and Coach Hartman saying, ‘If he calls you over, you guys listen and pay attention, because he’s forgotten more basketball than I know.’ That statement alone was scary.”

So, did Iba ever summon Underwood over for a chat?

Yes, and the message remains clear to this day.

“Told me I was doing a bad job of setting screens and that I didn’t move my feet very quick,” Underwood said. “So that referred Coach Hartman to actually use the term that he needed to strap a motor to my behind.”

In the end, Holder wanted Underwood. And Underwood wanted OSU.

And that made for an easy, quick marriage. Details of a contract with Underwood have not been released.

“It just seemed so obvious, looking back,” Holder said. “It was a no-brainer. I can’t believe how lucky we were. Luck: preparation meets opportunity. There’s a lot of serendipity involved. I just can’t believe how fortunate we are.

“I’m not predicting great things, that he’s going to change the world of basketball as we know it at Oklahoma State. I’m just saying we’ve got a guy that our fans, and I believe our athletes are going to love.”