Leonard Hamilton Faces OSU Nearly 30 Years after He Left Stillwater

Mike Boynton is in a tough spot. He’s a rookie head coach who’s currently learning how to do a very tough job — on-the-job — while simultaneously trying to fill the shoes of, and distance himself from, his mentor.

And on top of all of that, he’s had to navigate the murky waters of an FBI investigation that roped in his associate head coach (who has since been dismissed), the possible involvement, then apparent clearing, of his best player and now the dismissal of two more players who were expected to be key contributors coming into this season.

That’s a lot to handle for anyone, much less a 35-year-old coach during his first year at the helm. But Boynton’s team has fared pretty well, all things considered, and is 7-2 with its two losses to current top-10 opponents in Texas A&M and Wichita State.

Unfortunately, it’s not going to get much easier when Boynton takes his squad to Sunrise, Florida to face one of the surprise stories of college basketball, the unbeaten No. 19 Florida State Seminoles. Across the scorer’s table? A veteran head coach who knows a thing or two about the challenges Boynton is facing.

Leonard Hamilton was just 33, two years younger than Boynton, when the rookie head coach took over an Oklahoma State program in even worse shape — at least from an on-court standpoint — than how Boynton found it earlier this year. As of 1986, the Cowboys had wallowed in mediocrity for two decades with just one NCAA Tournament berth in the previous 22 seasons. Hamilton’s hire was the fifth coaching change since Henry Iba stepped down in 1970.

The ace recruiter known for his defensive acumen came over from Kentucky where he served one season under newly-named head coach Eddie Sutton. Hamilton was a holdover from Joe B. Hall’s Kentucky staff and the first in the storied program’s history to earn the title of “associate head coach”. But when Hall stepped down, Hamilton was not granted an interview to replace him. Kentucky went with Sutton, an established head coach at Arkansas.

Stephen F. Austin is not exactly the University of Kentucky, but Boynton saw himself in a similar scenario three years ago. The former assistant under Frank Martin at South Carolina, followed fellow staff member Brad Underwood to SFA where both enjoyed unprecedented success in Nacogdoches. When Underwood got the call from Mike Holder to replace Travis Ford, many (Boynton included) thought he would be considered as a replacement. He wasn’t and took a spot with Underwood at Oklahoma State.

Back in 1986, while Kentucky did not see Hamilton as the man to lead its program, Oklahoma State did. Hamilton replaced Paul Hansen after seven years and became the program’s first African American head coach. Boynton is just its second.

Hamilton’s 1986-87 team struggled to an 8-20 finish but the 1987-88 team improved to 14-16. He flexed his recruiting muscles in Stillwater bringing in the likes of Byron Houston, Richard Dumas and even transfer Tulsa native John Starks.

In years 3 and 4 of Hamilton’s tenure, OSU went 17-13 and 17-14, making NIT appearances in each. Oklahoma State hadn’t seen back-to-back postseason action in 32 years, resulting in the board of regents offering Hamilton a three-year extension.

Hamilton complied a 56-63 start to his coaching career in Stillwater before the ace recruiter was enticed away to the orange and green-er pastures of Miami where he spent 10 seasons. After a short stint coaching in the NBA, the veteran coach has spent the last 16 seasons in Tallahassee where he boasts a 313-196 record.

Mike Boynton and his Cowboys’ story has yet to be written, but his counterpart on Saturday knows what it takes to try to turnaround a basketball in Stillwater. Maybe he can pick his brain.