Oklahoma State Cowboys
2019-2020 Overall Rank: #81
Conference Rank: #10 Big 12
After Brad Underwood led Oklahoma State to a 10-seed in the NCAA Tournament in his lone season with the program, Mike Boynton has gone 0-for-2 in getting the Cowboys back to the Big Dance. This does not necessarily reflect on Boynton doing a poor job, though. He actually led Oklahoma State to 21 wins in his first season, which was more than Underwood won the prior year. Boynton’s Cowboys have won 13 games in arguably the toughest conference top-to-bottom over the last two seasons. The 2019-20 season could be the year Boynton gets his team to the NCAA Tournament with all five starters returning from last season.
2018-19 Record: 12-20, 5-13
2018-19 Postseason: None
Coach: Mike Boynton
Coach Record: 33-35 at Oklahoma State, 33-35 overall
Key Departed Players:
Curtis Jones, Guard, 8.1 ppg
Duncan Demuth, Forward, 0.9 ppg
Luke Major, Forward, 0.9 ppg
Curtis Jones, Guard, 8.1 ppg
Duncan Demuth, Forward, 0.9 ppg
Luke Major, Forward, 0.9 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Cameron McGriff, Senior, Forward, 12.3 ppg
Lindy Waters, Senior, Guard, 12.2 ppg
Thomas Dziagwa, Senior, Guard, 11.7 ppg
Isaac Likekele, Sophomore, Guard, 8.7 ppg
Yor Anei, Sophomore, Center, 7.7 ppg
Cameron McGriff, Senior, Forward, 12.3 ppg
Lindy Waters, Senior, Guard, 12.2 ppg
Thomas Dziagwa, Senior, Guard, 11.7 ppg
Isaac Likekele, Sophomore, Guard, 8.7 ppg
Yor Anei, Sophomore, Center, 7.7 ppg
Key New Players:
Avery Anderson, Freshman, Guard (4 star 121 overall)
Kalib Boone, Freshman, Center (3 star 137 overall)
Keylan Boone, Freshman, Forward (3 star 366 overall)
Chris Harris, Freshman, Guard (3 star 125 overall)
Kalib Boone, Freshman, Center (3 star 137 overall)
Keylan Boone, Freshman, Forward (3 star 366 overall)
Chris Harris, Freshman, Guard (3 star 125 overall)
Jonathan Laurent, Senior, Forward, Transfer from UMass
Hidde Roessink, Freshman, Forward (unranked Netherlands)
Marcus Watson, Freshman, Guard (4 star 86 overall)
Hidde Roessink, Freshman, Forward (unranked Netherlands)
Marcus Watson, Freshman, Guard (4 star 86 overall)
Projection:
All five starters are back for Oklahoma State, led by top scorer and rebounder Cameron McGriff. McGriff was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after averaging 12.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals as a junior. Lindy Waters was also named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after a strong junior season. Waters averaged 12.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals. Waters is a sharpshooter who hit 44.8% of his threes which was second highest in the Big 12. Thomas Dziagwa is a similarly talented marksman who hit 105 three-pointers last season, tops in the Big 12. McGriff, Waters and Dziagwa were joined by sophomore Isaac Likekele in starting all 32 games last season. Likekele is clearly the youngest of the group but could have the highest upside on the Cowboys. Likekele was a member of Team USA during the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup where he averaged 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals. Likekele put up similar stats as a freshman last season and is primed for a huge sophomore campaign. Finally, Yor Anei returns after starting 29 games as a freshman. Anei largely made his presence felt on the defensive end where he averaged 2.7 blocks per game, seventh most in the entire NCAA. Anei also averaged 7.7 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 61.6% from the field. Though the Cowboys have a strong returning starting five, depth could be an issue as the rest of their roster are all new additions. Jonathan Laurent is the lone non-freshman out of the newcomers. Laurent is a grad transfer from UMass who also spent two seasons at Rutgers. Laurent averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season as a junior. Laurent also led the A10 in three-point shooting last year with a 46.7% mark from downtown. The rest of the roster is composed of six freshmen. The recruiting class is a pretty good one though, with four of the six ranked in the top 150 by the 247sports composite. Of those top four, Marcus Watson and Avery Anderson are both 4-star prospects, while Kalib Boone and Chris Harris are 3-stars. Kalib’s brother, Keylan Boone, is also a 3-star recruit while Hidde Roessink is an unranked prospect from The Netherlands. Oklahoma State may have one of the best starting five in the Big 12, but their depth could be the deciding factor of how well they fare in the always challenging conference.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.1 (285th in nation, 9th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.5 (180, 9)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.3 (282, 9)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.8 (120, 8)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.8 (72, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.2 (48, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.9 (240, 6)
Rebound Margin: -1.9 (260, 10)
Assists Per Game: 13.2 (194, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (103, 6)
Madness 2019 Men’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#94 Marcus Watson
#112 Chris Harris
#116 Avery Anderson
#124 Kalib Boone
