Long road home
Oklahoma State suffered a defeat at Baylor on Monday night, but the strange journey home at least provided bonding time for the Cowboys.
Amid a lengthy, unexpected bus ride, there was a moment when Oklahoma State nearly lost its point guard.
After Monday’s 76-60 loss at Baylor, inclement weather forced the Cowboys to bus the entire way to Stillwater from Waco, Texas. Despite lasting until 6 a.m., the trek gave the Cowboys a chance to reflect on their defeat while bonding with one another. But a tree and a window provided drama.
A stop to drop off an assistant coach for recruiting caused panic when the Cowboys’ bus got caught in a parking lot. A nearby tree pressed against a window near the back of the bus.
“(The driver) tried to make a turn, and there was a tree, and he just kept going, and it shattered,” guard Lindy Waters III said. “It didn’t break all the way, but the tint fell off and the window was pushed in. We were just screaming.”
Sitting adjacent to the window was point guard Brandon Averette, who Oklahoma State guard Jeffrey Carroll, left, scores past Baylor forward Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., right, during the Cowboys 76-60 loss to the Bears Monday in Waco, Texas.
panicked and leapt to the other side of the bus. The Cowboys yelled in near unison. It wasn’t exactly the bonding they expected.
With time, some were brave enough to tape the window back in place and sleep by it. Others, like Waters and Tavarius Shine, stayed up until the bus pulled into Stillwater about 8 hours after the loss the night before.
Window scare aside, coach Mike Boynton said he felt the trip afforded his players the chance to
experience the life of the many less fortunate college athletes.
“I think it’s good for us,” Boynton said Thursday. “I think, sometimes, we get at this level a little spoiled by the accommodations and the access, the luxuries and all that stuff, and sometimes it’s good to get back to reality that probably 75 percent of college athletes really live.”
Boynton’s first collegiate coaching job came as an assistant at Coastal Carolina. He recalled a pair of games that forced the team to drive from Birmingham, Alabama, to Lynchburg, Virginia, a ride of about 8 hours. Former OSU coach Eddie Sutton had mentioned to him a ride to Stillwater from Fargo, North Dakota, that took 15 hours.
Comparatively, the trip from Waco was marginal. The dose of perspective could prove beneficial Saturday against No. 4 Oklahoma.
“It’s a relatively short bus ride,” Boynton said. “… Obviously not ideal, but sometimes, they need a little reality check.”
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Boynton, on Saturday being his first “Remember the Ten” game as OSU’s coach:
“It’s not about me. It’s about those families and those people whose lives were tragically taken that day. Obviously, this program and the people in this community have done a great job of continuing to keep those people in mind. … The opportunity to make sure those families know their children and their loved ones are big parts of our program moving forward is something that I certainly will continue to keep in mind.”