Boynton’s brand, and OSU’s, are stained by scandal
STILLWATER — Mike Boynton said all the right things Thursday. Too bad they fell on deaf ears.
Media. Fans. Coaches and players who do the right things no matter how few they may be. We’re past the point of being placated by words. Past the point of believing anybody in this sordid sport, much less a guy we’ve known 15 minutes, no matter how much we wanted to like him.
That’s the state of college basketball. That’s the state of OSU basketball.
A major scandal fell right on the Cowboys’ head last week when the FBI charged associate head coach Lamont Evans with corruption. Coaches at Southern Cal, Arizona and Auburn also were arrested, and Louisville legend Rick Pitino lost his job in the fallout.
Evans is accused of accepting money to steer ballplayers, including at least one current Cowboy, to financial advisers whose expertise was in serious question. In other words, selling out the very people coaches are commissioned to protect.
Boynton was the ultimate incognito assistant coach under Brad Underwood. When Boynton was named in March to replace Underwood, not one Cowboy fan in 100 would have known Boynton had they bumped into him at Hideaway Pizza.
And Boynton has gone stealth in the last week, forbidden by OSU officials from speaking out. That had to change and quick, just for PR purposes. Cowboy basketball is falling into an abyss, and if Boynton is the rescue plan, we needed to hear from him. So we did. Boynton said he “never had any suspicions” about Evans’ actions and that he stands by his promotionday comment that Evans was “like a brother” to him and that he had never “worked on a staff that’s been involved in these types of things.”
Boynton came across as the same genuine person we saw back in March and I saw over the summer during an impromptu chat. But now Boynton is stained with scandal.
Boynton said he’s slept well since the Evans news broke and that he hasn’t feared for his job.
“I don’t think about it like that,” Boynton said. “This is a great opportunity. Something I’ve worked really hard to try to get to in my career. The reason I do it is for these guys (players). So that’s where my focus was at the time and continues to be there.”
Maybe so. But the FBI investigation continues, and now Evans is in the hot box, facing prison time and likely being grilled by the feds. Seems like Evans could hold in his hands the fate of Boynton, Underwood and South Carolina coach Frank Martin, since Evans has worked for all three. A guy who would sell out a player would sell out a coach, even if what he’s peddling is fabricated.
Boynton didn’t say much about his relationship with Evans, but out in Columbia, S.C., on Thursday, Martin said the news of Evans’ arrest broke his heart and that he was surprised that Evans’ name was included in the scandal. But Martin said he was not shocked to learn that there was corruption in college basketball.
“Any coach in this business that tries to act like they didn’t know there were some shenanigans going on ... is not being honest with you,” Martin said.
And now those shenanigans have touched OSU’s novice head coach, who has taken over a proud but weary program. Frankly, Cowboy fans are tired. From Eddie Sutton’s drunken driving, to Sean Sutton’s drug arrest, to the 10-year contract given Travis Ford that was followed by mediocrity, to the immensely popular Underwood’s leaving after a solitary season. Now this.
You can’t blame anyone in orange for saying they just can’t care anymore.
“I don’t know if I speak to all college basketball fans, but I do want to speak to our fans,” Boynton said. “This is a great program. It has been for a really long time. This is a product that they’ll continue to be able to be proud of. And our staff will continue to prepare to make sure that we put out a product and a team that they can feel good about.”
But the OSU basketball brand has taken another hit. At least Cowboy hoops has some distant history to fall back on. Boynton has taken a major hit, too and his brand was a blank slate.
“I understand that,” Boynton said. He says the only thing he can do is “come out here and do the job I’ve done for six months or so and continue to point to these players, continue to communicate with their parents that there’s good people here looking out for their children and make sure that our administration continues to know that we’re doing things the right way.”
Sounds good. All sounds good. But we just can’t believe basketball coaches anymore, when and if we find enough energy to care.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 ora tb tr am el@ oklahoman. com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok. com/berrytramel.