Watch: Mike Gundy and Mike Boynton Talk about the Importance of Toughness

Oklahoma State’s first-year head basketball coach sat down for a one-on-one with his football counterpart, 13th-year lead man Mike Gundy.

The school released Part 1 and Part 2 over the last few weeks. So far, we’ve seen the two coaches talk about the “Cowboy culture” and their own backgrounds and paths that led them to their current jobs.

In this third and final edition, the two talk about toughness and the importance of players buying into their roles.

“People don’t like the word ‘role player’ in basketball because it makes you seem like your not as good,” said Boynton. “Everybody wants to be the star. Really, everybody is a role player.”

Boynton does understand the value of having stars. On a recent Pistols Firing podcast, he even told Kyle and Carson that he’s “obsessed with recruiting”. But that doesn’t mean he plans to simply chase stars without regard for fit or a player’s ability to buy in to the team concept.

“Everybody’s got to buy in to how they help the team win,” Boynton continued. “If you have a bunch of guys on that same page, the talent doesn’t have to be elite across the board.”

Boynton’s recruiting strategy seems to be a nice contrast from a former Cowboy coach who always seemed to land top prospects but was never able to really build out a roster.

“The culture piece is the one thing that gets undervalued the most, I think,” said Boyton. “Even from coaches and how they recruit. Just having guys that want to buy into something that’s bigger than them.”

Again, Boynton is saying all the right things. Whether or not that translates into success on the court remains to be seen. But he seems to have made a good impression on OSU’s most successful coach.

Check out the conclusion below.

Part 3 of 3: “People don’t like the word role-player, but really, everyone is a role-player.” @thacoachmike on building his team. #okstate pic.twitter.com/Rws33qAIpg

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) July 8, 2017