Boynton adds former head coach
STILLWATER — Mike Boynton addressed one open slot on his Oklahoma State staff with a head coaching veteran, announcing the hiring of John Cooper as an assistant.
Cooper spent the past five years as the head coach at Miami (Ohio), but his contract was not renewed after compiling a 59-100 record with the RedHawks. Before taking over at Miami in 2012, Cooper worked three years at Tennessee State, producing improvement in each of his three seasons.
In Cooper, Boynton adds a head coaching presence to the OSU sideline. Both Boynton, 35, and associate head coach Lamont Evans have been career assistants to this point.
“I am very excited to have a man of John Cooper’s experience and character joining the Oklahoma State basketball family,” Boynton said in a statement released by the athletic department. “I have known him for a long time, in fact he was a member of the coaching staff that recruited me years ago, and to this day he is a tremendous mentor for young men and an outstanding basketball coach.
"He will bring invaluable experience to our staff, and his recruiting connections all over the country will serve us very well.”
Cooper played collegiately at Wichita State. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Fayetteville State, before taking similar jobs at South Carolina and Oregon.
Worth noting, two of Cooper's players at Miami — twin brothers Michael and Marcus Weathers — have left the RedHawks and are looking for a new school, preferably closer to their Kansas home.
Michael and Marcus were Miami's first- and third-leading scorers, respectively, as freshmen this season. A year ago, they led Shawnee Mission North to its first state championship in 63 years. Michael is a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged 16.7 points and 4.8 assists for the RedHawks, while Marcus is a 6-5 small forward who averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.
Evans hires agents, forfeits eligibility
Jawun Evans officially won’t be returning to Oklahoma State.
That news officially broke late Wednesday, with reports that the point guard has hired an agency — ASM Sports — to represent him heading into the NBA Draft, ending any option to remain a Cowboy.
Players who enter the draft but don’t hire an agent can return to school if reports on their draft possibilities are not favorable.
Michael Scotto, a senior NBA writer for Basketball Insiders, was the first to report the latest Evans move, citing league sources.
The concept of an Evans return to the Cowboys always seemed slim, at best, with program insiders suggesting a strong push to turn pro from family and friends back home in Dallas. Many believed that Evans would have jumped to the NBA a year ago, if not for a shoulder injury that ended his freshman season and required offseason surgery.
Still, in the locker room immediately following OSU’s loss to Michigan in the NCAA Tournament, Evans told reporters that “more than likely” he’d be back with the Cowboys for his junior season.
Instead, Evans now will prepare himself for predraft workouts.
The draft is scheduled for June 22. Projections place him as a late-first round or early second round selection.
Jeffrey Carroll, another Cowboys standout who has entered the draft, is expected to return to OSU, with his draft projections lower. Carroll has until June 12 to either withdraw from the draft or announce his intention to return to school.