Chris Crutchfield

Last season, the Tyler Junior College Apaches made the Sweet 16 in Hutchinson, Kansas. This year, TJC missed out, but the Apache presence will be felt at the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California.

Two former Apache head coaches – Kyle Keller (Texas A&M) and Chris Crutchfield (Oklahoma) – are representing the school as assistant Division I coaches in the West Regional.

And one of the former Apache mentors has a good shot of earning a trip to the Final Four in Houston in a couple of weeks. The old Big 12 rivals play at 6:37 p.m. (TBS) Thursday at The Honda Center. The winner gets a spot in the Elite Eight, one step away from a coveted Final Four berth.

Good friends and colleagues, the two have known each other 20-plus years. They served together at TJC. When Keller was head coach, Crutch was his assistant. When Keller left to serve under Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State, Crutchfield became head coach of the Apaches.

The two are like brothers who compete against each other whether on the court or on the recruiting trail but remain buddies nonetheless.

Keller is in his fifth year at A&M. He left Kansas for Aggieland when Bill Kennedy was hired from Murray State. Prior to coming to A&M, Keller spent nine years at Oklahoma State and three years at Kansas.

Keller was head coach at TJC from 1997 to 1999. He is married to the former Chaunsea Olin and the couple has a daughter, Kenzie, and a son, Kemper.

He always wanted to be on the Division I level and he jumped at the chance to go to Stillwater and coach under his mentor Sutton. In 2004, the Cowboys made it to the Final Four in San Antonio.

“There were some 18,000 Cowboys fans there and I can only image how many Aggie fans would be in Houston if we made the Final Four,” he said. “There are some 300,000 former students in the area and Houston is just 88 miles from campus.”

Keller and the Aggies are so thankful to be in the Sweet 16 after what happened in Oklahoma City last week – down 12 points with 44 seconds to play and pulling off an epic comeback for a 92-88 double-overtime win over Northern Iowa.

“It was a miracle; everything had to go just right for us and everything had to go wrong for Northern Iowa,” Keller said. “Our team kept fighting and you have to give our kids credit. This will go down in NCAA history. But you have to say there was a higher calling for that to happen.”

Of course, Keller wants to get to the Final Four, but he hates that Oklahoma and his friend, Crutch, is standing in the way. He wishes the Sooners were in a different regional.

After Keller left for Oklahoma State, Crutchfield became the Apaches head coach for two seasons – 1999 to 2001. He and his wife, Jodi, are the parents of three sons, Derrick, Jalen and Josh.

Crutchfield is also in his fifth year at Oklahoma. He was hired in 2011 after spending four years at Oral Roberts University. After TJC he served under his mentor, Lou Henson, at New Mexico State. Crutchfield has also been at TCU.

“What a treat it has been to work under coach (Lon) Kruger (Sooners head coach),” Crutchfield said.

His duties at OU include scouting, recruiting and public relations.

Crutchfield was instrumental in getting everyone’s all-American, Buddy Hield, to Norman.

“I first saw Buddy was he was just 14,” Crutchfield said. “It is unbelievable how he has grown, not just as a basketball player, but as a young man.

“He is not only adored in Oklahoma, but across the nation now.”

Both Keller and Crutchfield credited their time in Tyler as molding them into coaches.

“Being in Tyler and TJC was a tremendous experience for me,” Keller said. “Some of my close, close friends are in Tyler – Gary Miller, Daryl Derryberry and Greg Priest. The people of Tyler are fantastic. Wagstaff Gym is one of the best venues and it’s such a historic place in college basketball. The city means a lot to me.”

Crutchfield feels the same.

“Being an assistant at TJC and then head coach was such valuable experience,” Crutchfield said. “I learned so much about coaching, recruiting, budgets, traveling … it was invaluable.”

Of course, on Thursday someone will be moving forward, while the offseason begins for the other.

“It will be bittersweet,” Crutchfield said.

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