[BIRDS CHIRPING] So you didn't do it, obviously--

Didn't do it.

And that was clear, and that was emotional, and all that stuff, but you made a big decision not to do that, and come back and go home, back to Lamar.

Go back home. I'm in school for the next couple of weeks, and I get this call on the answering machine. My mom, I come back from school one day, and my mom's like, hey, you got a call on the answering machine. This guy named Brad McMakin calls me from Lamar University. Hey Chris Stroud, this is Brad, Lamar University head coach. I heard you didn't sign. I haven't recruited you, because I didn't think we had a chance of grabbing you.

They were 45th in the country at the time, a really good school, but their schedules weren't that great. They weren't playing everybody. He goes, I think you need to come see the team and meet everybody. You might be impressed.

A few days later I drive up, bring my sticks. Brad McMakin gives me a kind of a tour.

Where exactly? That's not that far from your house like--

25 minutes, maybe 30.

Up into Beaumont, right?

I drive up there, and at the time, Lamar was a commuter school, very ugly campus and old buildings and just-- right by a refinery. It's just like, not that fancy. It's just not that nice. Brad sits me down. He gives me this little five, ten minute tour around the campus, and showing me some things. Sits me down in his office, he goes, listen, he goes, he told me his story about OU and winning championships and playing with a bunch of great guys.

And he said, listen, I tried to make it as a tour player. And he said, I was pretty good, he said, but I know-- I know how to get to the tour. If you want to get to the tour, you need to come here. He said, I can get you there. He said, but before you make that decision--

That was a different message.

It was a different message. He said, I don't care, but, he said, listen, I know you're great in school. I was A/B student, and made great grades, and he said, I know we're not going to have-- he said, but listen, you need to meet the team. I've got a really good team.

Blah, blah, blah, we've got these great players. You really need to play with them. I go out. We played golf that day. There were two foursomes.

Who was on that team, because I probably know some of them guys?

Gavin Flint, I mean, when I came in Gavin Flint, Andy [? Turnist, ?] Joe [? Cunick, ?] a few other guys, Austin Williams, [? Gerand ?] Meeks, you know [? Gerand. ?] Those are the guys that were there right before I got there. And I went and played. We played Beaumont Country Club. At that time, it was in beautiful shape, green, it was just awesome.

I played. I shot 67. I was the seventh worst score. So there were-- seven guys beat me.

Yeah, you found yourself into a beehive.

I was like, I had played golf with all these teams, and I'm going, now all the-- no the-- none these guys have names, yet they're better than all these teams. I'm like, holy cow. We sit down after the round. I'm blown away that I just shot four under, I had five birdies and a bogey. I remember that today. Five birdies and a bogey, and I got smoked. And I'm thinking, I can't even make it on this team. How is this not number one in the country. Brad--

Which eventually--

That's right. So Brad sits me down, and he goes listen, he goes, we're better than everybody. He goes, they just don't know it yet. He said, I've been recruiting here for years. He said, I have got some studs. You saw them today. You played with three of them.

He said, we are great. He said, the reason why we're not ranked higher is because we don't have a great schedule. He said, you've got to play against those greater teams. We're trying. He said, you come here, we will be number one. That's what he told me.

And sure enough, I sign. I was blown away. It's a big local deal. I'm signed Lamar. I'm staying local. A year and a half later, my sophomore year, we were number one in the country.

[? I knew ?] [? that, ?] and Coach, University of Houston had some big battles with a different set of players, of course. We were much older than you, but there was-- they were some of the best players that we'd ever seen from this little school in Beaumont, Lamar. It was amazing how they could recruit, you know, Trevor Dodge, Philip Jonas, Kelly Gibson, just a-- just a ton of good players.

Mm-mm.