5 Thoughts on Mike Boynton's Contract Extension

STILLWATER – There were a lot, and I mean a lot of people who were worried about some of the coaching vacancies around college basketball and those schools reaching out to Mike Boynton. Well, Oklahoma State put all that mess to rest when they signed coach Boynton to a seven-year contract extension worth $3 million a season.

I (Zach Lancaster) teamed up with Marshall Levenson to put together these 5 Thoughts on Mike Boynton’s contract extension. I wanted to get the perspective of a student on what this means to the student body.

(Zach Lancaster’s thoughts)

He’s Absolutely Earned It

There was no question about whether Mike Boynton could recruit. While he lost a good chunk of his original class to dismissal or transfer, he since brought in a top-20 recruiting class that included Avery Anderson III and Kalib Boone, two big-time performers and leaders of this team moving forward, and a top-five class that included the No. 1 overall prospect in the country in Cade Cunningham. Not to mention Rondel Walker and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe who look to be stars on this team for the next few seasons. He also brought in Isaac Likekele, who’s been a leader of this team since day and one of the best players in the Big 12 when he’s not sick or injured.

One of the questions about Boynton and his teams were can they win, and they absolutely proved they could this season. They posted the best OSU record since the 2012-13 season and knocked off quite a few really good teams in the process. While they turned out to be not-so-great, the Pokes knocked off an at-the-time good Marquette team on the road, they swept a really good Texas Tech team, beat a top-10 Texas team in double-overtime, beat a top-10 West Virginia team twice, back-to-back, swept a top-10 and top-20 OU team, back-to-back, then knocked off No. 2 Baylor to advance to the Big 12 championship game. They also won the program’s first NCAA tournament game since 2009.

With the direction Mike Boynton has had the program going in the last three seasons, including the way he and his staff recruits, Oklahoma State is in great hands and should continue to get better.

Mike Boynton Loves Oklahoma State and Stillwater

This thought pairs together with the previous thought about the program’s success. There was a lot of video floating around the past few days from Boynton’s introductory press conference. There was a lot of emotion based on the appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity to be a head coach. Boynton continued to show and tell that appreciation and gratitude over the next four seasons with everything he did. The NCAA, and FBI for that matter, proved he wasn’t involved in Lamont Evans’ cheating scandal. Ever chance Boynton gets, he’s repping loyal and true, as well as supporting every other head coach on campus by attending games and talking about how much they mean to his grow as a head coach.

Ever chance he gets he’s talking about the history of the program and how he’s trying to honor and immolate the success and tradition set by Henry Iba and Eddie Sutton.

Then there’s the extension itself, which shows he’s invested in this program and community for the long haul. He’s reinvigorated a fanbase and student section that wasn’t talking about the program all that much, let alone showing up for games. Had there been full capacity in GIA this season, I have no doubt every home game would’ve been a sellout. Mike Boynton is exactly what this program needs.

The Extension Should Ensure This Roster Sticks Together

I’ll start out by saying I don’t think the extension will have any impact on Cade Cunningham’s decision to head to the NBA. However, even if the NCAA upholds its (unfair) punishment, I feel this team will stick together. There’s still the question of whether Bryce Williams returns, but I believe we’ll see a very large number of the guys stick together moving forward. Had Boynton be lured away by another program, it would’ve been inevitable that we saw guys, probably a large number, jump ship and either follow Boynton or go somewhere else. Every recruit, and now alum of the program has said is they love Mike Boynton, he’s the reason they chose to either commit to or stay at OSU. He’s a genuine players coach and it’s evident by the loyalty the team showed by in June by all recommitting after the NCAA levied (unfair) penalties against the program.

Avery Anderson III took a huge leap between his freshman and sophomore seasons, and in theory should do so again between his sophomore and junior seasons. There’s no question as the Avery being one of the best players in the conference the last month and a half of the season. Kalib Boone took a nice leap up from his freshman season and had a solid last two months of the season. Hopefully Isaac Likekele is back to his old self because he’s an absolute menace and one of the best players in the conference when he is. Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Rondel Walker will hopefully take similar leaps as Avery Anderson did between their freshmen and sophomore seasons and will really add a great defensive and explosive element to next year’s squad.

Keylan Boone really stepped up down the stretch and hopefully continues that into next season and hopefully Chris Harris and Donovan Williams are able to get healthy and make an impact next season as well. Also, I’m looking forward to see how Bernard Kouma progress throughout the spring and summer into next fall.

(Marshall Levenson’s thoughts below)

Recruiting For The Long Run

This extension for Boynton will be a major factor in the 2022 recruiting class as well as the years beyond that. With so many coaches being fired or bouncing around jobs right now, recruits will be looking for a stable situation and nothing is more stable than a coach signing for seven years and saying this is “his home”. Boynton and staff can now recruit and honestly pitch the idea of longevity and long-term success within the program, which goes a long way in the eyes of recruits. 

Players Are Not The Only Believers, The Students Will Show Up

As a student at Oklahoma State and media member, I see the players talk about how much they care for and support Coach Boynton and that he is the right guy for the job. After this past season and now with the seven-year extension, the fans and students can now comfortably hop on that train without worry of losing their coach along the way. GIA will be absolutely packed to the roof in the coming years and the students will be louder than ever. I personally think Boynton is one of the best coaches in the country at relating and connecting with his fans, especially students. Because of this, the students, will reciprocate this and show the absolute most support for their coach will continue the idea of GIA being one of the rowdiest gyms in America.