OSU Recruiting: Courtney Ramey Now a Must-Get For Oklahoma State in 2018

Mike Boynton was elevated to head coach last spring, and the decision was met with trepadation and angst.

Boynton had no previous head coaching experience, as you know by now. But on the plus side, the now-36-year-old, in theory, was young and hip enough to be able to climb the rungs of the coaching ladder by building the program through stellar recruiting. (He has the same playlists as the kids, wears Jordan 7s, etc.)

Thus far however, those hopes haven’t quite panned out … yet. Sure, Oklahoma State has two talented frontcourt players in Yor Anei and Duncan Demuth incoming for 2018. But neither are surefire, day one starters like previous decommit Antwann Jones projected as.

Both are three-star prospects that come with a developmental element you might see from, say, Mike Gundy, and not Mike Boynton.

But here’s the good news: Boynton still has a chance to make a major splash in 2018 with four-star point guard Courtney Ramey. The Saint Louis native and former Louisville commit is on the market, available, and leaning Oklahoma State, according to Rivals analyst Corey Evans.

“At this point in time, he’s taken two visits so far: that was to Oklahoma State in December, and also to Texas,” said Evans this week. “So those are the two frontrunners right now, and I think Oklahoma State has an edge over Texas. But a lot of schools are trying to get in the mix.

That’s the good news. Here’s the bad news: the fact that Ramey hasn’t ended his recruitment means that, while OSU is considered the frontrunner, the staff hasn’t sold him yet. He’s letting other schools make their pitch and enter the mix, and the more time that ticks away is more time for him to consider other options.

And here’s potentially worse news: OSU has painted itself into a corner to the point where they are Ramey or bust. The staff made an offer earlier this week to three-star point guard Amir Harris, a former Rhode Island commit, but he’s a contingency plan if Ramey falls through at best.

And let’s face it: bringing in Harris — a kid who projects as a mid-major/marginal Division I player — likely won’t be the long-term fix at point guard for this team.

In order to get things rolling on the recruiting trail and on the hardwood of Gallagher, Ramey seems to be the only option on the table that can adequately fix OSU’s middling performance both in recruiting and on-the-court play.