Roundtable: What We Thought of Mike Boynton’s Introduction

We decided we needed to get together and roundtable on the events of Monday when Mike Boynton was hired as the new basketball coach. Let’s get right to work.

Kyle Porter

OK, on yesterday — what was your biggest takeaway?

Caleb Deck

I’m impressed by his humility and passion for the team and those around him. I think there’s a fine line between humble self-depreciation and self-doubt but I think he has the tenacity and character to lead this team well. His demeanor and style are a far cry from the strong leadership styles of both Underwood and Doug, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing.

Sam Aldrich

Brad Underwood preached the moniker “Everyday Guys” over and over- Mike Boynton Jr. is the living, breathing representation of that. While Boynton Jr. is in charge and Lamont Evans is in tow as the associate head coach, Oklahoma State basketball gonna hustle hard in the gym and on the ‘crooting trail.

Thomas Fleming

He deeply cares about this job and about wanting to excel. He also loves the players, and his commitment is clear. Still don’t know what he’s doing with his half-court offense, and he better not be Travis 2.0 in that regard, but he definitely deserves a chance to succeed.

Carson Cunningham

It’s obvious to me why he got the job – he’s a superb human being. Talking to people at the press conference it’s clear he made an impact on anyone and everyone in that athletic department.

Right or wrong: I don’t think they hired a basketball coach as much as they hired a man they admired and thought would take care of young men in the basketball program.

Nick Welch

I think the No. 1 thing I took from it is his players just love him. That’s pretty crazy to accomplish a connection with players after just 1 year. I realize Ford had similar relationships, but also to be called the “best player developer” is a really intriguing combo.

Kyle Boone

He’s a down to earth dude who seems like he’s ready to tackle the opportunity. I thought he seemed a bit swallowed up by the moment, but after he made the joke about Holder he settled in. I think he knows where his priorities are and should be right now (Getting dudes, filling staff, etc). So I feel better about the hire than I did over the weekend.

Basically this.

Trust, respect and most of all hard work. @thacoachmike is about building men. #letswork #okstate pic.twitter.com/Kq8loD73xq

— Cowboy Basketball (@OSUMBB) March 28, 2017

Hayden Barber

I see why Mike Holder hired him. Mike Boynton is huge on family, authenticity (for now) and connections. I was impressed by his personality, but when Carson asked about what kind of basketball we can expect to see, I was not nearly as impressed. I understand that maybe doesn’t want to “expose” any of his offense, but he said literally nothing about how he will put up points other than that his players will put up points. That said, he said all the right things other than that, I thought.

Porter

What specifically did he say that got you most fired up?

Boone

“We had a good season. I’m no fan of good. I want to be great.”

Cunningham

“I’m no fan of good. I’ve got no interest in it. I want to be playing this weekend. I want to be great. I want to be nationally relevant because we can. We have. And we will again.”

Aldrich

I was about to copy/paste that, so retweet what Carson said. He’s got me ready to suit up talking like that!

Welch

#LetsWork

Boone

He does the Twitter very good.

Deck

Exactly what Carson said. No interest in good. Chills.

Barber

Truthfully, nothing other than the quote above. I think Boynton is a great guy, and I’m the first one to jump on a human interest story, but as far as what to get fired up about on the court, there wasn’t really anything to report. Whether that was the fault of the reporters for not asking enough or his own for not addressing it, Boynton gave me no real compelling reason to get fired up about the basketball product. I love his charisma, but I was excited to hear about some hoops.

Porter

I have to say I thought he did a really good job. He’s clearly humbled by the situation and loves his dudes, but …. it does feel like he’s in way over his head. Maybe that’s not the case, but I don’t want to be subjectively swayed by the fact that he might objectively not really have any idea what he’s doing as the head guy. I could be wrong — I hope I am — but if this is going to work, he has a boatload of obstacles to overcome.

Cunningham

Two awkward moments – His answer about what he will have to learn fast as a HC (shrugs, says he will figure it out) & the biggest cheer of the day was announcing Lamont Evans was staying.

Welch

I will say this, I was very skeptical at first, and I still am a little bit. But what has helped alleviate a little bit of the concern is watching this NCAA Tournament and seeing promoted assistants with zero prior head coaching experience like Greg Gard (Wisconsin), Chris Mack (Xavier) and even Sean Miller when he was at Xavier having immense success. Not saying Boynton is going to get at that level, but there is definitely some recent precedence.

Porter

Frank Martin, too.

Deck

This may be jumping the gun, but one of the things I’m most intrigued to see from him is how he handles adversity and player issues/discipline. How would he handle a Stevie Clark-type issue? He seems more soft spoken but also his history from NYC and working every day to get to this point in his life shows he has determination and can find a way to do what is needed.

Or will he recruit based more on character and try to avoid any situations? It’ll be interesting to see it develop. (Of note, there seemed to be few/no issues with players this past year at least in public. Even Davon was motivated and had no issues, unlike Ford’s tenure….)

Barber

I asked him about what it was like growing up in Brooklyn. He said he had a pretty great life. Loving family. A lot of friends. Not too much trouble or challenge. So…

Cunningham

It did seem obvious he played a big role in the Davon Dillard revolution.

Steven Mandeville

He’s the anti-Sean Sutton in that they would be the perfect coach in one body. Emotional intelligence is through the roof on the guy, instant credibility but not because of rings or Ws. But what precedent is there for that being the distinct advantage that put someone over the top? Football coaches are CEOs but basketball guys are tacticians. Let me see some tact-ing before I think he’ll beat teams.

Porter

Feels like if you can get Mitch Solomon and Davon Dillard to both love you, you can get anybody in the world to love you. OK, last one. This obviously can work … but will it work? Will he be a long-term answer for Oklahoma State’s basketball problems?

Barber

In short, no, but I can be a pessimist. It will ultimately be up to the players, I think, at least until he can figure this position out.

Cunningham

Best case: He recruits like Scott Drew and overcomes coaching inexperience. Talent trumps most problems. (need to recruit guys taller than 6’6 unlike Ford)

Worst case: Doesn’t recruit at an elite level has a Pat Knight-like tenure: Great, beloved guy who couldn’t win basketball games. I lean toward the latter.

Welch

I’d say it’s too early too tell. Might also depend on this AD situation that is a developing story. Good start for him though keeping Zack Dawson in the fold.

Porter

I’m going to say it doesn’t work. Three to four mediocre to below average seasons and on to the next one. (I want to be wrong).

Boone

I’ll let him get past a year before I make judgements … But he gets at least three full years. Gotta give him time to get his recruits and build out his program.

Aldrich

I say he leads us to moderate success. We make a few tournaments but we never finish top 3 in the Big 12 under Boynton. He should get a few years to get his players in before we judge him. Just a hunch.

Mandeville

At the level of inexperience, I think it’ll take 4-5 years for him to hit a stride. I’m afraid he won’t have that long … especially if we have a new AD anytime between here and there.

Welch

Big 12 could be unforgiving to the rookie coach, heck half of the coaches in the league have been to a Final Four.

Porter

I was talking to Mark Cooper about this the other day. Every Big 12 coach except Chris Beard has been to the Sweet 16. Every coach except Chris Beard and Steve Prohm has been to an Elite Eight!

Cunningham

Since we are spitballing: Let’s say he wins the Big 12, Holder better have a special contract clause: $10 million buyout for South Carolina.