Most players would be content with 1 conference POY award or 1 conference tourney MVP award: if anyone needs to borrow 1, Thomas Walkup has 2 of the former and an incredible 3 of the latter! On Saturday he scored 19 PTS to help the Lumberjacks chop down Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in the Southland tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. He led the conference in FG% this year and even had a Leap Day triple-double. Yesterday HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Thomas about a single-digit loss to Utah in last year’s NCAA tourney and how his team forces more turnovers than almost anyone in the nation.
You play for Coach Brad Underwood, the 3-time reigning conference COY: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have ever learned from him? It is hard to pick just 1 quality, but his attention to detail is great and he brings it every day at practice. I have taken that to heart and will use that the rest of my life.
Last March you scored 12 PTS in a 7-PT loss to Utah: what did you learn from that game that you think can help you this time around? We learned that we cannot play timid. If we had played in the 1st half the way we did in the 2nd half I think that we would have won the game, so we will come out more aggressive this time.
You began your season with a pair of tough road games against Baylor/Northern Iowa: which of these teams impressed you the most? Baylor was much better than Northern Iowa. They have athleticism, size, and happened to play 1 of their best games of the year against us: they just shot it well all night long.
On February 29th you had a triple-double (12 PTS/15 REB/10 AST) in only 28 minutes during a win over Incarnate Word: where does that rank among the best all-around games of your career? It is definitely in the top-5. It was not all up to me: I just kept dishing the ball to my teammates for layups. It was neat to look at the scoresheet after the game and see double-digits in all 3 columns!
On Saturday you had 19 PTS/4 STL in a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to clinch the Southland tourney title en route to being named conference tourney MVP for the 3rd straight year: how are you able to consistently play your best when it matters the most? Preparation. We lift weights during the summer and throughout the season so my body stays fresh while our opponents might be a little worn out.
You are the 2-time reigning conference POY and led the conference in FG% this year: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors, and what is your secret for being a great shooter? I will look back at my individual accomplishments in 10-15 years but I know that I am winning these awards due to the success of our team, which is the most important thing. The key to shooting well is just staying in the gym…but I would not call myself a great shooter.
You have increased many of your stats during each of your 4 years on campus (PPG/RPG/APG/SPG): how have you improved as a player from the fall of 2012 until now? My numbers were not very good as a freshman, and the following summer our new coaching staff dragged us into the gym to preach individual improvement. All of us still get into the gym to put up some shots because our coaches showed us what it takes to be good.
Each of your top-3 scorers (including yourself) are seniors: how crucial has your veteran leadership been to your team’s success this year? It has been a huge part of our success. The best part is that all the seniors have been to the NCAA tourney and won the Southland tourney so I think it is a combination of leadership/experience. Having 5 seniors in the rotation with everyone playing their roles has helped a lot.
Your team has forced 596 TO this year, which is #2 in the nation: what kind of defensive tactics has your team used to rack up so many turnovers? We stay in the passing lanes, pressure the ball, and are extremely aggressive on defense. Some teams use defense as a chance to take break during the game but that is where we thrive and wear people out.
You ended up with a #14-seed and will be playing in Brooklyn on Friday against West Virginia (who swept Baylor in the regular season): do you think that you deserved a better seed, and how do you plan to deal with the Mountaineers’ famous full-court press? There are a lot of good teams out there. Of course it would be nice to be a #12-seed but I am happy with our seed/draw. We have a lot of different guys who can handle the ball and pass it and we have a high basketball IQ so we will try to beat their press and attack down the floor.