Five Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s 75-63 Victory against Rogers State

STILLWATER — Waka Flocka Flame was on hand to watch the Cowboys take on Rogers State.

That’s a sentence I’m almost certain has never been said. Oklahoma State defeated the Hillcats 75-63 on Friday night in an exhibition game Gallagher-Iba Arena. It might have not been as dominating of a performance as one expected, but only two OSU starters played more than 20 minutes.

As for Waka Flocka, he had a concert at the Tumbleweed later in the night.

“Yeah, I didn’t even really know what was going on, and then somebody said that he was on the board,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “I said, ‘What’s he doing here?’ So, yeah. It was cool.”

Here are five thoughts on the exhibition.

1. Rusty First Half Nothing to Worry About

At one point in the first half, OSU was 1-for-8 from 3-point range and Rogers State was 5-for-8, and the Hillcats still couldn’t get a lead.

At that same time RSU had only two points in the paint. A, that’s not an offensive formula that will work for too long, and B, OSU isn’t going to go 1-for-8 from 3 often.

It was a shaky part of the first half that OSU eventually shot itself out of. The Cowboys finished the half 4-for-11 from deep and with a 37-29 lead.

As for the Hillcats looking like the Kevin Durant-era Warriors, Boynton said after the game that it’s tough to get a good scout on a team without a ton of film out there. RSU returned only two contributors from last year’s squad, so the guys OSU thought it was comfortable getting shots turned out to be guys who could shoot.

“They made some tough shots,” Boynton said. “I give credit, that No. 3 (Ricardo Lynch) … sometimes a kid jumps out there, and it’s after three shots that you figure out, ‘Man, we gotta really guard him.’ And it may be too late like it was with him. He was making shots. I think he’s still making them if he’s out there.”

Boynton really used the scrimmage to get his newcomers some experience with nearly an even minute total for all 11 of his available scholarship players. So, a 12-point win against a Division-II school isn’t outstanding, but it had its reasons.

2. Kalib Boone Dominates

Kalib Boone didn’t get a ton of attention heading into Friday night, but he stuffed the stat sheet.

The taller of the Boone twins, Kalib had 13 points, six rebounds, six blocks and three steals. After the game, Boynton said he knew Kalib was capable of such a performance, but consistency has been a question.

“He’s shown flashes,” Boynton said. “He had some times this summer where he did what he did tonight, and you’re like, ‘Man, he’s got a chance to be something special. Put some weight on him and who knows?’ But he just hasn’t done it consistently yet. But the ability is obviously unquestionable.”

He attacked the rim with three dunks, two came off lobs. Everyone needs to remain calm, but Lob Stilly might be back.

ICYMI: @kalibboone32 proved that cowboys can in fact fly. #LetsWork | #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/m4DmpLjTya

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) November 2, 2019

With five freshmen playing in front of their first college crowd, Boynton said he rehearsed everything from the national anthem to going in for halftime this week. Kalib said he was still nervous, and that he had to get a towel to dry his hands when the game started.

“When I got in, I was so tired like the first two minutes,” Kalib Boone said. “Then when I started going, I was like, ‘OK.’ Then I relaxed and thought about how I do this in practice, so this is just another game, another day. It was fun. It was an amazing feeling.”

3. Everything They Said about Hidde Is True

With Mike Boynton saying that Hidde Roessink might be the smartest player he has ever coached and that Roessink might be the best shooter on the team, I don’t know what I expected.

Roessink was quite impressive, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds. On back-to-back possessions at the end of the first half, Roessink had a drive where he went by his defender before splitting two more and laying it in. Then he worked a pick-and-pop with Isaac Likekele where he hit his first 3-pointer as a Cowboy.

Roessink was expected to be a project when it was announced OSU got a player from Europe. He’s not a project. He’s a ball player.

“What everybody saw today is kinda some of the things I’ve been trying to allude to without being able to show you guys him in real time,” Boynton said. “He’s really, really skilled. He’s got a really good feel just for the game. He knows how to space the floor. I think he scored about every way a big kid can. He scored on the block, made a pick-and-pop 3, he drove it, rebounded it. He’s going to be a really, really good player for a long time here.”

4. McGriff Can Still Fly

In less than three minutes Cameron McGriff had dunked on someone.

First of many jams from Cam ?#LetsWork | #GoPokes pic.twitter.com/f3FtPkKNdu

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) November 2, 2019

When OSU was struggling from deep at the beginning of the game, McGriff was 2-for-2.

There was a little scuffle on the floor early in the game after McGriff got called for a charge. When McGriff was getting up RSU guard and former Kingfisher standout Jett Sternberger nudged McGriff back to the floor. Yor Anei came in and nudged Sternberger. No fouls were called, but Sternberger got a front-row seat to OSU’s next possession, a McGriff breakaway windmill jam.

I asked McGriff postgame how he decides what dunk he is going to do in such the short amount of time.

“Figure out how my legs are feeling at the moment,” McGriff said. “You might see something else next time we get those chances. I just think of the first thing that came to my mind. Next time around, what do you want?”

I said a 360 would be nice.

“Alright 360 is next,” McGriff said.

5. Other Freshmen First Impressions

Avery Anderson is as shifty as they come.

His numbers didn’t quiet show it, finishing with four points and six assists, but everything he did just looked smooth. He threw a beautiful lob to Kalib Boone late, and he just looked calculated. He had just one turnover to go with the six assists.

Keylan Boone was the first player off Boynton’s bench. He struggled with his shot Friday night, going just 1-for-6, but he finished +10, the second best plus/minus on the team.

Chris Harris took a team-high 10 shots, getting three to fall. He was the Cowboys’ fourth player in double-figures, finishing with 10 points, three rebounds and an assist. He also had the best shoe game of the night, breaking out these SpongeBob inspired Kyrie 5s.

#OKState freshman Chris Harris Jr. is sporting some SpongeBob shoes for the exhibition game. Photo creds: ⁦@tbrew28⁩ pic.twitter.com/a2OCzTrheD

— Hallie Hart (@halliehart) November 1, 2019