Tourney run ends
OSU lost to Western Kentucky, 92-84.
Oklahoma State printed a bunch of orange shirts for fans Wednesday night.
Five thousand to be exact.
None were left because the Cowboys have become a draw again. A big draw. Gallagher-Iba Arena wasn’t filled for the NIT quarterfinal against Western Kentucky, but there was lots of orange, those free shirts included.
FOUNDATION LAID, they said at the top.
LET’S WORK, they said below.
Despite a night in which OSU’s season ended with
a 92-84 loss, there was still a foundation laid this season. Now it’s time for Mike Holder and Co. to get to work.
Renegotiate Mike Boynton’s contract.
“This isn’t about me,” the Cowboys coach said after the game. “I’m not even into having those type of conversations at this point because it’s not necessary.”
Boynton sure sounds like a guy who intends to be at OSU longterm. He talks about 25 years in the future when he will reference this first season and tell those Cowboys how Mitchell Solomon and Jeffrey Carroll and others set the standard.
He also talks about his allegiance to Holder, the man who took a chance on a rookie head coach even in the face of skepticism and disbelief and backlash about the hiring.
“I’m not saying that we’ve got it all figured out and are going to win a national championship this next year, but when this happened, the reaction was, ‘Oh, boy, this is a disaster, this is not going to go well,’” Boynton said. “Clearly, that’s not the case.
“He was the visionary of that. There wasn’t another athletic director in the country that would’ve given me this opportunity. So, it means a lot to me.”
Even though Boynton sounds loyal and true, OSU should still sweeten his contract. Not because he might take another job. Because he is worth it.
Boynton has stabilized this program. There were so many things that could’ve derailed this season.
The FBI investigation announced right before practice started. The firing of top assistant Lamont Evans, indicted on federal charges. The dismissal of Davon Dillard and Zack Dawson, guards expected to help this team.
But the Cowboys kept grinding.
You know the results. When asked about the successes of this season, Boynton deflects credit to everyone else in the program. Players. Assistants. Support staff. But they go as he goes. “Let’s work” is his motto, and he’s instilled that mentality into the program.
Now it’s time that OSU reward his work.
Boynton made $1 million this season, totally understandable for a first-time head coach. OSU wanted to see what he could do, wanted him to prove himself.
He’s done that and then some.
Boynton, who originally signed a five-year deal worth $6 million, is due to make a $100,000 raise in each successive season. That means he’ll receive $1.1 million next season, but that was the money that OSU was willing to pay him before it knew what he could do.
Now? A 10 percent bump going into next year doesn’t seem near enough after what he has done this year.
Bumping him to $1.25 million would be a minimum raise.
Going to $1.5 million would be more fitting.
Holder, of course, must be mindful of past mistakes made in contracts with men’s basketball coaches. Too little money for Brad Underwood hastened his departure. Too many years for Travis Ford locked him in longer than many folks wanted. But a balance can be struck with Boynton— and he’s worth figuring it out.
His vision for basketball suits the Cowboy faithful. Playing hard. Being defensive minded. Getting physical.
Likewise, his personality has connected with fans, and that’s been no small thing. Residual from Ford’s tenure and Underwood’s departure, not to mention lots of rough seasons, has made this bunch skeptical.
A crowd of 11,308 on Wednesday night in the middle of spring break would prove the Cowboy faithful is all in on Boynton’s bunch.
“Throughout my career, there’s been a lot of adversity that this school has faced,” Solomon said. “Through no fault of their own, fans have felt a certain way about this program. But I feel like what we’ve accomplished this year and the obstacles that we’ve overcome has given people a sense of hope and excitement.
“We’ve built the foundation. Now, it’s time for the pillars.”
Boynton is the foreman on this job — and he needs to be rewarded for a job well done.