SFA's Kyle Keller to SLC: Road to title 'still runs through us'

Desperate Housewives was still airing new episodes on ABC. The Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex was preparing to host a Super Bowl. Mitt Romney was more than a year away from announcing another presidential bid. The Texas Rangers had still never been to a World Series.

It was January 2010. And it was the last time Stephen F. Austin lost a men's basketball game in Huntsville. Sam Houston State, 2016-17 preseason favorites and co-leaders in the Southland Conference standings, are trying to change that trend this Thursday.

A lot has happened in the last seven years. UT-San Antonio, UT-Arlington and Texas State were all members of the SLC back then. Danny Kaspar was still leading SFA and the Lumberjacks had just competed in their first ever NCAA Tournament game a season earlier.

The Lumberjacks' remarkable run in the years since would've been hard for anyone to follow. Brad Underwood led veteran teams to a combined 53-1 record in conference play over his three seasons, upset VCU and West Virginia in the Big Dance and came an unlucky bounce away from the Sweet 16.

Now, Underwood is at Oklahoma State. The iconic face and beard of Thomas Walkup is playing D-League basketball for the Windy City Bulls. This is a new kind of SFA team. One with new coaches, talent, schemes, and a fan base full of ever-increasing expectations. SFA's 11-10 (6-3) record as January draws to a close would seem to indicate a wide open door for a new captain of the SLC in 2017.

Not so, says first-year head coach Kyle Keller. The former assistant to Eddie Sutton, Bill Self, and Billy Kennedy is used to winning. "Things haven't changed around here," he announced on Saturday night shortly after his Lumberjacks dismantled league-leading New Orleans. "The faces may change, the uniforms may change, but we're growing."

SFA's three conference losses have been nothing short of head-scratching. Add in that two have been to a couple of the three worst teams in the league right now (McNeese, Abilene Christian) and it becomes downright dumbfounding. The self-inflicted wounds, turnovers, inept offense, injuries, and glaring inexperience has crippled the young Lumberjacks all year. "We're not very smart yet," Keller likes to say. It's the only way to rationalize some of the defeats, against teams with far less talent, but more on-court experience.

"Everything this year is a first for me," Keller said on Saturday. "This is my first time to lose this many games, ever." Dropping 10 by this point in the season is a first for many SFA fans too. At least in awhile.

There's a crazy thing about the Southland Conference though (and low to mid-major leagues all over the nation). You can experience the worst of growing pains, lose winnable non-conference games, even drop a few bizzaros in league play, and the perennial goal of league champion and NCAA Tournament representative are attainable.

SFA may not be the leader right now, or even the favorite this season. But when you win four-straight titles, that fifth is yours to lose. Now, as winners of four of their last five games, SFA appears largely back on track. At least, that's what Keller has his team believing.

"I still believe that the road to the championship runs through us," he said after a mid-week victory over Central Arkansas. Just three days later, SFA handed New Orleans its second conference loss. This Thursday, in their historic home away from home, they will try to hand Sam Houston State its third.

"The dudes are starting to get it - playing for each other," said Keller. "We're going to be a hard out. I think our dudes are starting to get some confidence and swagger. Our guys are growing up and they're starting to like playing with each other. It just takes so long for guys to learn how to play Division I basketball."

Keller has frequently pointed to February 1st, this Wednesday, as the time to judge the progress of his team. SFA's game in the home of the league favorites a day later should serve as candid analysis of just how much the 'Jacks have grown up. "I told our guys tonight, we're going to know in a week if we're players in this league or not," admitted Keller this weekend.

The Bearkats are trying to exorcise demons on their own home court in the form of a 13-game losing streak to their hated rivals. SFA is trying to prove they're still the real favorites and their take down of New Orleans was no fluke.

One thing is certain. The monstrosity of the game for both teams, as well for the conference race as a whole, cannot be overstated. After a season of growth, SFA has a chance to be a mid-major power again for a long time. Keller has no intention of waiting that long. He's never wavered in his calm belief that the 2016-17 version of his team could turn the corner.

"Everyone who wanted to put us in a casket, you better open it back up," he said calmly with the drawl only he can emulate. "We ain't dead yet."