The Dow Is Going Up as the Cowboys Head to Spain

STILLWATER — Of the five freshmen on Oklahoma State’s basketball team, four were listed as a four-star recruit by at least one of the major recruiting services. The other is Connor Dow.

But through a handful of early practices as the Cowboys prep to head on an exhibition tour of Spain, the three-star Broken Arrow alum has been standing out, according to Mike Boynton.

“I would say probably the [freshman] who has had the most consistent impact in practice has been Connor Dow,” Boynton said. “His ability to shoot the basketball obviously stands out, but he’s a really good athlete. He’s much better defensively than probably people would assume, probably better than I assumed. A lot of the credit goes to his high school coach, Beau Wallace, over at Broken Arrow, obviously gave him a really good foundation. Beau played college basketball himself, so he knew how to prepare the young man. So he comes over with a pretty good grasp on [defense], which is where most of them struggle — positioning, caring about it.

“He’s probably the one guy, you could say, doing something you didn’t expect them to do this early on the defensive end.”

Listed at 6-foot-6, 200 pounds on OSU’s roster, Dow was the No. 248 player in the 2023 247Sports Composite rankings. His listed offers are Oral Roberts, Toledo, South Dakota State, Jacksonville State and Nebraska-Omaha. Not necessarily a murder’s row of blue blood basketball problems.

But to go along with Dow’s shooting and athleticism, Boynton praised Dow’s ability to fit into a game. Dow played with Team Griffin for AAU ball, where he played alongside a handful of highly touted prospects, including McDonald’s All-American Brandon Garrison. Dow had to find a way to fit in and pick his spots.

Because the Cowboys’ recruited Garrison so heavily, Boynton and his staff were able to get a good look at Dow, and early returns suggest it’s paying off.

“That’s one thing I always appreciated is that he had a humbleness and humility but confidence at the same time that he knew he belonged,” Boynton said. “Recruiting, it’s quirky, man. You just never know. Every situation is a little bit different, but him being down the road and his parents being basketball people, comes from a great family — things that have really gave him an opportunity. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I think it’s going to be hard to not try to find some time for him because of his IQ for the game.”

Spain Exhibition Tour Itinerary

Aug. 5 – Depart Stillwater; Overnight flight to Madrid
Aug. 6 – City tour; Visit to Las Arenas Bullring
Aug. 7 – Bull ranch and skills demonstration; Gaucho barbeque
Aug. 8 – Bus to Toledo; Game No. 1
Aug. 9 – Train ride to Valencia; Traditional Paella lunch
Aug. 10 – Game No. 2
Aug. 11 – Fun in Valencia
Aug. 12 – Catamaran cruise; Bus to Barcelona
Aug. 13 – Explore Olympic venues on Montijuic Hill; Game No. 3
Aug. 14 – FC Barcelona stadium tour; Beach time at Costa Brava; Farewell dinner
Aug. 15 – Return to Stillwater