Cowboys take on Tulsa
Coach Mike Boynton’s Oklahoma State Cowboys try to build off an upset win over Florida State with a home game Tuesday night against Tulsa.
STILLWATER — Mike Boynton was not doing interviews on Sept. 29. The social media accounts for the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team were in the middle of a nine-day stretch of dormancy.
The university placed a cloak over the entire program as it processed the news that one of its assistant coaches — Boynton’s associate head coach — had been arrested (and subsequently fired) as part of an FBI investigation.
No one talked basketball when practice officially began that week. Even if anyone wanted to, no one was going to listen. The first time Boynton spoke to the press, on Oct. 5, an 11-minute session focused on the off-the-court scandal.
Behind the scenes, though, in its hallowed arena, Oklahoma State began to construct an identity.
Boynton’s first official preseason practice took place at 6 a.m. Players, as one could imagine, were excited, fresh and ready to take the court — a haven after a week of miserable news. When the first few trickled out of the locker room, though, there was confusion. For a basketball player, the sight on the court defied logic.
There were no basketballs.
Boynton called the first weekend of practice a "mini boot camp." For three days, Oklahoma State practiced without using basketballs.
Practice focused on defense. On box outs. On players getting comfortable with diving to the floor and becoming agile. On taking charges — like the one Mitchell Solomon absorbed to seal a tideturning win over Florida State on Saturday.
“We got through it and they worked hard,” Boynton said Monday. “But that set a tone that this is who we’re going to be.”
OSU did not even have a full staff at that point; Scott Sutton’s hire came later. But those first three days, when no one was looking, could have been three of the most important days of this season. The Cowboys forged an identity built on pride and defense, just like Boynton vowed when he was hired.
As Oklahoma State (8-2) preps to host Tulsa (7-4) at 8 p.m. Tuesday, it comes off the most affirming moment of its season to date. The Cowboys forced 22 turnovers in a 71-70 win against No. 24 Florida State. It added to a trend: OSU has forced 82 turnovers in its last four games.
For Boynton, who seems to be building some momentum with the fan base, the results are not coming out of thin air.
He reflects back to weeks of a defensive focus in practice.
Against Florida State, the Cowboys perplexed their opponent by shifting between man-to-man and zone defenses and occasionally flashing traps and presses. They refused to let the Seminoles get comfortable. Florida State point guard C.J. Walker — a player Boynton said “made them go” — finished with three points, one assist and three turnovers in 24 minutes.
While the defensive maneuvers reflect well on Boynton and his game plan, he credits the players. Oklahoma State typically plays a four-minute segment of a gamelike scrimmage in every practice. The Cowboys practice situations — down five, two minutes to go, or up six, two minutes to go — so they’re ready to adjust and adapt late.
“We do a lot of stuff like that just so we can have video to learn from,” Boynton said. “And then I don’t think it’s that difficult for those guys because they’re trained to make adjustments. To be thinkers and to be able to adapt depending on what the situation calls for. Obviously you got to have buyin, they’ve got to believe in what you’re telling them.”