Oklahoma State has the postseason in its sights after being banned final season.
The NCAA punished the Cowboys after former assistant coach Lamont Evans accepted as much as $22,000 so he might assist steer athletes to sure monetary advisers. Evans was arrested as a part of a federal corruption investigation in 2017, and he pleaded responsible in 2019.
Oklahoma State performed within the NCAA Tournament in 2021 whereas the case was being appealed. The enchantment was denied final November. With no shot on the NCAA Tournament and even the Big 12 Tournament, the Cowboys struggled and completed with a 15-15 report.
“It was a really, really difficult season for our team to go through last year with that already on the forefront before we ever played a game, no question about it,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton mentioned.
Boynton thought the penalty was unfair, particularly as a result of the exercise occurred earlier than he grew to become head coach. Judging by the best way comparable violations have been handled since, he believes the penalty might need been the final of its variety.
“It sucks to now be a footnote in history,” he mentioned. “We’ll probably be (the answer to) a trivia question: ‘Who is the last team to suffer a postseason ban over a recruiting violation?’ The answer will probably be the 2021-22 Oklahoma State men’s basketball team.”
The Cowboys are ready to move forward, and guard Avery Anderson leads the charge. The preseason All-Big 12 selection averaged 12.1 points per game last season. He scored 34 points at home against Iowa State and 25 at Oklahoma.
Moussa Cisse is back to protect the rim. The 7-foot-1 junior was one of the three players who shared Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. He averaged 7.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and a conference-leading 1.9 blocks.
Boynton said Cisse, who came to Oklahoma State as a raw athlete, became more polished in the offseason. The Cowboys will be looking for him on offense more often this season.
“We feel like if we can make some steps in terms of being able to throw it in the air every four or five possessions and getting a positive result, it will make the game easier for the guys he’s on the court with,” Boynton said.
The two cogs give Boynton hope that this team will be successful.
“I’m excited about this group,” he mentioned. “We’ve got some experience, probably the most experienced team that I’ve had since my first year (2017-18). … The guys have worked really, really hard, like all these teams. And obviously we’re just chomping at the bit to start competing.”
ONE TWIN
Kalib Boone is again for Oklahoma State, regardless that his twin brother and former teammate, Keylan, transferred to Pacific.
Kalib completed second within the Big 12 with 1.3 blocks per recreation final season, regardless of preventing by way of early accidents. The 6-foot-9 ahead scored a season-best 20 factors within the win over North Carolina State on Nov. 17 and averaged 5.8 factors, down from 9.4 the earlier season.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Boynton expects vital contributions from two transfers.
Caleb Asberry was an All-Sun Belt first staff choice at Texas State final 12 months. He averaged 13.6 factors per recreation, began each recreation and led the staff in minutes performed, steals and 3-point objectives.
John-Michael Wright was a three-time All-Big South choice at High Point. He led the league with 18.4 factors per recreation and added 4.4 rebounds and three.4 assists.
YEAR TWO
Guard Bryce Thompson is again after averaging 10.6 factors per recreation in his first 12 months with the Cowboys after transferring in from Kansas. More is anticipated this 12 months.
“He is certainly somebody that we’re going to look to to lead us from a scoring standpoint,” Boynton mentioned. “He and Avery Anderson will probably be our two kind of spearheads in the backcourt there. So he’s going to do, hopefully, what he was expected to do out of high school, which is be an impact player in the best conference in America.”
QUOTABLE
Boynton on navigating the switch portal: “We have transfers ourselves, so I don’t want to sit up here and be hypocritical. But we try to be very intentional about the type of kids we bring into our program and helping them understand what our program is about and why they can have success and why our program will have success with them.”
SCHEDULE
The Cowboys open at house in opposition to Texas-Arlington. They go to Connecticut on Dec. 1 within the Big 12/Big East Battle. The Cowboys open convention play at Kansas on Dec. 31. They will host Ole Miss on Jan. 28 within the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
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