Steve Lutz Was Pleased With Oklahoma State's Effort Against Auburn
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State and Steve Lutz are having a solid preseason as they’ve landed two four-star prospects in the 2026 class, giving the Pokes a top 5 class in the country. That was followed by a win, albeit an exhibition game, against a preseason ranked Auburn down in Alabama.
The 48% shooting from the floor from the Pokes, 97 points and 52 total rebounds to 43 from Auburn won’t be used anywhere this season. Not in Big 12 standings, not in any postseason talk or any national rankings.
However, you absolutely take things away from the game. Talking with coach Lutz on Saturday afternoon, he said he was pleased with most of what he saw.
“I was pleased with their effort, and for a first exhibition game, that’s a lot of points to score. So, that was a pleasant surprise,” Steve Lutz said on Saturday. “The fouling and just the overall awareness in the transition defense, especially, is somewhere we have to improve and improve quickly. But I like the guys and their work effort and their demeanor and their coachability. So, I think we’ve got something good to work with.”
The Cowboys have an opportunity to continue to grow this coming Saturday as they’re down in Dallas for another exhibition, this time against SMU.
“I would say that for the first exhibition game of the year, those guys performed at a high, high level,” Lutz said during his Monday press conference. “I think that that hopefully gives us a glimpse of what maybe could come down the road.”
Lutz continued with his quote, “Winning and being a coach is very fleeting. As quick as people are to praise us for beating Auburn, if SMU were to beat the heck out of us, they’d be wanting to fire me again. Instead of Nutz for Lutz, it’d be … whatever. You know what I mean? I get it.”
There are three guys who didn’t get into the game against Auburn last week due to an injury in Kanye Clary, Christian Coleman and Vyctorius Miller. Clary projects to be the starting point guard and Miller had a great summer and fall before an injury ahead of the exhibition. Pokes Report has learned the trio looks to be back this weekend against SMU.
While Anthony Roy played 42 minutes with 28 points on 50% shooting, that trio will take minutes. But Roy was certainly a bright spot we haven’t seen in a while and looks to continue his success throughout the season.
“It’s a fantastic luxury and something we didn’t have, obviously, last year,” Lutz said of Roy. “I’m excited about what Anthony did against Auburn the other night, and again, I think he’s got a long, long ways on the other side of the ball for growth. And if he can do both of those things because he rebounded it, he shot it. The downside against Auburn was he some careless turnovers. He had six turnovers. But if he becomes a two-way player, I think Anthony Roy’s gonna have a chance to be a professional for a long time.”
We won’t get to see the SMU exhibition this weekend, but word will get out and hopefully fans, and Steve Lutz, are pleased with what they see. Then we’ll all get our first true look at the Pokes November 4 as they open the season against ORU.
