How Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton plans to improve Cowboys: 'I gotta look in the mirror'

STILLWATER — After falling short of making the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his tenure, Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Mike Boynton expects changes to the roster and makeup of the team this offseason.

“Ultimately, it’s my job to make sure that there are more accomplishments than shortcomings moving forward,” Boynton said Monday. “So, I’m more committed now than I’ve ever been. I feel really good about where we’re going.

“Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of fluidity just honestly on the roster.”

Less than a week after wrapping up his sixth season leading the Cowboys, Boynton spoke of the need to find more “playmaking” in the transfer portal to improve the team — especially offensively — alongside the returning players and highly regarded recruiting class.

The Cowboys are coming off a season in which they fell one spot shy of March Madness. They advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.

But that’s not the goal.

“There were a lot of reasons why that happened,” Boynton said. “Some of it was outside of our control but there were several things that we could have done better to ensure our position.

“Ultimately, that’s on me. It’s my job to put our program in position where we are not on that line or fighting in the last couple of weeks, but that we have consistent success throughout the year.”

Here are three takeaways from his Monday news conference:

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How Mike Boynton plans to address offensive woes

Hours after the Cowboys’ season-ending loss to North Texas, Boynton was up at his home studying.

For three hours, he watched every OSU possession from this season.

And he went on a rollercoaster ride.

“There were some good moments,” Boynton said, “there were some times where we showed this team has really grown and there were some times that was like, ‘Who is coaching these guys?’ And it was me. I gotta look in the mirror and figure out how to make those moments disappear.

“But there were also times we coached pretty well, put our team in position and it didn’t go our way.”

OSU made just 31% of its 3-pointers this season, which was tied with TCU for last in the Big 12.

OSU’s adjusted offensive efficiency ranked No. 146 in the country, according to KenPom.com. That was a 15-spot improvement from last season. But the Cowboys were No. 266 in effective field-goal percentage and No. 320 in turnover percentage.

Boynton pointed to building a big lead at Kansas before losing in the final seconds. He pointed to big home leads against Southern Illinois and Kansas State that resulted in losses.

“We just didn’t finish well,” he said. “So that’s going to be a lot of my focus this season is consistent play — specifically on the offensive ends — and being better finishers, whether it be free throws, great possessions where the ball moves and gets into the paint and then whatever good shot you get from there.

“While I take total responsibility — the record is mine, I get it — there’s some things that we need to build on and there’s some things we need to change. The things we need to build on, I feel good about. The things we need to change, it’s on me to get fixed. We’ll do that somewhat through personnel but somewhat through some different schematic things.”

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Cowboys looking for more playmakers, shooting

A year ago, Boynton went after two things in the transfer portal: a point guard and more shooting.

He got the point guard in John-Michael Wright, who shot 36% from 3 a year ago. More shooting arrived in Caleb Asberry and Russell Harrison, who was later ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

Now, the Cowboys need more consistent shooting. And they need playmakers who can drive to the basket and create for themselves or teammates.

“What’s glaring from my perspective is we need more playmaking,” Boynton said. “We gotta get more dynamic in terms of playmaking. In the frontcourt, we gotta get more skilled there.

“But I think we improved. But we didn’t improve enough and that’s ultimately my job that we get better at a higher rate.”

Boynton said he feels he has evolved in his ability to build a roster.

He wants a certain mindset — especially defensively — in a player. But he understands more and more each season the need for players who can make shots.

“I still have a type of player in terms of mentality that I like,” Boynton said. “But from a skillset there will be a continued emphasis on everyone on our team being able to shoot in a somewhat capable fashion.

“But we want everybody to be able to shoot 3s at some point.”

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The transfer portal will be big

The Cowboys do have five freshmen coming next season, including McDonald’s All American center Brandon Garrison.

But the successful teams in March Madness are older. Being a freshman and making a dynamic impact in the Big 12 is hard.

Boynton realizes that.

That’s why he plans to boost the roster from the transfer portal.

Boynton said he’s constantly watching film of guys in the portal. He even watched film at his son’s basketball games in Wichita, Kansas, recently.

“It’s just all day every day,” Boynton said.

Boynton also said he’s met with every Cowboys player. Those eligible to return — Asberry and reserve center Bernard Kouma are out of eligibility — have not expressed a desire to play elsewhere, though decisions about returning or going pro or transferring have not been made.

After utilizing only 11 scholarships this season due to NCAA sanctions, OSU will have the ability to use 13 scholarships next season. Or it could use 12, freeing up the final scholarship required by the NCAA to not be used over a three-year period.

“We'll use as many as we need to put ourselves in the best position to have more success,” Boynton said.

Still, expect major changes via the transfer portal.

“We’re going to continue to address making sure that we’re aggressive in the recruiting space,” Boynton said. “A lot of it will be through the transfer portal. We’ve already made a lot of contacts. There’s a lot of high-level interest in helping our program get to where we believe it can go.”

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Tip-ins

Boynton was named an assistant coach for Team USA in the U19 World Cup next summer in Hungary. It’s the second straight season Boynton has been an on-court coach and third straight he’s been involved with the team. “One of my most prideful moments in my life was putting on a gold medal last year.” … Boynton said he is unsure what the Big 12 schedule will look like next season with the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, giving the conference 14 teams.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton plans to improve team