OSU basketball teams hosts first official practice

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton's white Nike long sleeve stated what he wanted the Cowboys' first practice to be about.

In orange font, “DISCIPLINE.” spread across Boynton’s chest Monday.

“Today is about taking the steps toward being a champion,” Boynton said. “It’s a baby step, but a first step in regards to, ‘How do we prepare ourselves to win games?’”

Here are five talking points from the Cowboys' coach meeting with the media.

Year 1 vs. Year 2

From players dismissals to an FBI investigation, Boynton had many challenges in his first season.

But after the Cowboys went 21-15 with four top-10 victories, Boynton said the weight of expectations could make his second season more difficult.

“Year 2 is always more difficult than Year 1,” Boynton said. “... I think people are really excited about Oklahoma State basketball again, and that’s awesome, but with that comes great responsibility.”

Weathers’ situation

Last month, Boynton indefinitely suspended guard Michael Weathers from team activities after Weathers was arrested and charged with grand larceny.

Weathers appeared in court Monday morning and will do so again at 10 a.m. Nov. 5, five days before OSU’s season opener at Charlotte.

“I don’t know when or if to expect him back,” Boynton said. “Obviously, it’s an ongoing process. It’s not something that we condone. It’s something that we take very seriously. That’s the reason he’s not been a part of our team since then.”

Tracking technology

A basketball rack with flashing red lights sat adjacent to the Cowboys’ practice court. The balls on it were charging.

OSU is using basketballs with tracking technology to better understanding its players’ tendencies. The Cowboys also wore small white trackers on their sneakers.

“A lot of times, you talk pretty generically about how you should work, things you should improve on,” Boynton said. “Now, we have a system where we can measure those things.”

Jones’ weight loss

Freshman forward Kentrevious Jones has lost more than 50 pounds since arriving on campus, dropping from about 320 pounds to 264.

“Kent’s lost like a whole kid,” junior guard Lindy Waters said.

Boynton was also pleased with the transformation.

“When I recruited him, looked him in his eye and asked how good he wanted to be and what it would take to do that, I knew he would make some progress in that regard,” Boynton said. “I’d be lying if I told you I thought he’d be 50 pounds down already.”

Boynton’s dive

With the help of the Army Golden Knights, Boynton made the bold choice to jump from a plane a couple of weeks ago.

“At some point, I just said, ‘You know what, I’m up here. There’s no way I’m going to back out,’” Boynton said. “That would be the most probably cowardly thing I’ve ever done is take me back down on the plane. And the guy I was jumping with had over 9,000 jumps. ... I would think that’s as comforting as it would get. And if it was going to go wrong, it was just my day to go.”