BEEFING UP
Cowboys' freshman Kalib Boone is gaining weight and must play big against No. 2 Baylor on Saturday
STILL WATER — Kalib Boone made his goal-weight for the week. That' s vital news in his world.
Two hundred and seven pounds.
“That might sound little to some of y'all,” Boone said with a big grin, “but to me that's big.” It certainly is.
For a young 6-foot-9 forward playing big minutes for Oklahoma State, barely cracking the 200-pound mark does sound light. But it was an important step in a big week for the freshman from Tulsa Memorial.
“I felt like I played big,” Boone said. “It was just good to be myself because there was times when I weigh in below 200 and I don't feel like myself.”
Boone's normal is a ball of energy. He can be physical, though he's often matched against bigger and stronger players. He finishes well near the basket, too. He did all of that Wednesday in a loss to Texas with 12 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes, all career highs.
And when OSU plays No. 2- ranked Baylor at 11 a.m. Saturday inside Gallagher-Iba Arena, it will need another boost from Boone.
“I like his aggressiveness around the rim, I like his attitude,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “He knows these guys are much stronger than he is right now. But he plays fearlessly and I'm proud of his progress.”
Throughout the offseason, the Cowboys have worked to add weight to Boone and his twin brother, Keylan.
Kalib won't meet the ultimate goal weight this season. Boynton said he would love to see him reach 225 pounds by next season.
But the biggest challenge for Boone is matching up with Big 12 forwards and centers.
Two forwards from West Virginia' s starting lineup outweighed him by at least 50 pounds. Texas' J eri cho Sims outweighed Boone by 33 pounds.
Early in the year, Boone was since the poll began in 194849, and seven of those wins came when the Cowboys were unranked. A win would be OSU's 10th against teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2, and its first since Feb. 2, 2013, at Kansas.
• Baylor has won seven of the past eight matchups with OSU. The Bears have also won four of the past five in Stillwater. The Cowboys do own a 55-29 series advantage. They also snapped Baylor's seven-game win streak with a 67-64 victory in Waco, Texas, on March 6, 2019. overmatched in those situations. Throughout the past week, he's shown improvement. He's also been more consistent in practice.
“I think early on he thought, `I hear you, Coach, but I'm going to show you that I can do it a different way,' which is pretty typical,” Boynton said. “It's very normal for freshmen. Now, he's starting to understand that if he has good practices it will carry over into games more consistently.”
That's why Boynton turned to Boone 55 seconds into the second half Wednesday. Yor Anei was again struggling. Boone was the better option.
And he played like it, giving OSU a glimpse of his possible future.
“When my number's called, I feel like it's the calling card for me to show what I can do,” Boone said. “I always feel like anytime I get in is an opportunity for me to show Coach Boynton I'm getting better, I can do what he needs me to do.”