Photo by the Houston ChronicleSFA coach Kyle Keller, a former TJC coach, has the Lumberjacks in the Big Dance again.

Kyle Keller had never been an NCAA Division I head basketball coach before the 2016-17 season.

But the question was never if he could do the job, it was a matter of him getting the opportunity.

Keller had been a head coach before — at Tyler Junior College from 1997-99. He also was an assistant coach at TJC from 1994-96. Other assistant coaching stops for Keller were Louisiana Tech, the University of Texas at El Paso, Oklahoma State, Kansas and most recently Texas A&M, where he coached on staff from 2011-16.

After a long career as a Division I assistant, the time had come for Keller to be a head coach at that level for the first time. His landing spot was at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches.

Robert Hill — the director of athletics at SFA — had recently given another first-time Division I head coach a shot, and it turned out pretty well. Hill hired Brad Underwood, who led the Lumberjacks to a record of 89-14, three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two NCAA Tournament wins in his three seasons.

Underwood left SFA to take on the same role at Oklahoma State, and he is now the head coach at Illinois.

With Underwood leaving Nacogdoches, it left an opening, and Hill once again took a shot on a longtime Division I assistant.

This was Keller’s opportunity to be a head coach for the first time in nearly 20 years since his days roaming the sidelines at TJC’s Wagstaff Gymnasium.

But while SFA had plenty of recent success, Keller’s new gig wasn’t going to be easy. Most of the players from those NCAA Tournament runs were gone and succeeding Underwood’s remarkable tenure had to come with some added pressure.

In Keller’s first season on the job, the Lumberjacks went 18-15 and finished second in the Southland Conference. Their string of NCAA Tournament trips ended, but they did earn a spot in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

A winning record and a trip to the postseason is a pretty good start to a head coaching career. But Keller knew that the goal at SFA was bigger than that.

The Lumberjacks put together an impressive regular season that included a win over LSU in non-conference, but the ultimate goal could only be accomplished in Katy during the Southland Conference Tournament.

SFA picked up wins over Central Arkansas (86-64) and Nicholls State (78-66) in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to advance to the title game against Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday night at the Merrell Center.

Despite blowing a second-half lead and trailing late, SFA rallied for a 59-55 victory to earn its spot in the “Big Dance.”

“I’m an emotional guy,” Keller said in a postgame interview on ESPN2. “My athletic director is leaving, and I wanted to win this for him, because he’s been here 31 years, and he gave me this opportunity. This is his last year, so I’m trying to keep my emotions in check, because I wouldn’t be here without him. God put us together. I’m happy, but I’m sad, too.”

Keller’s Lumberjacks earned a spot in the national tournament the same night his former team — the Tyler Junior College Apaches — earned a trip to the NJCAA National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

TJC (26-6) will open the NJCAA National Tournament against Barton (Kansas) at 10 a.m. Monday.

SFA (28-6) will begin the NCAA Tournament against Texas Tech at 6:27 p.m. Thursday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The game will be televised on truTV.

All Keller needed was a chance. Now, he gets to dance.

 

ANOTHER LOCAL CONNECTION

SFA has another person with local ties on its staff — Arp graduate Chris Keith.

Keith was on Arp’s 2006 state championship basketball team, which was coached by his father, Brian Keith.

Keith is SFA’s director of men’s basketball operations.

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