After a disappointing season last year, Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton is eager to turn the page.
The Cowboys do that Monday when they open the season against UT Arlington in Stillwater, Okla.
“I don’t want to keep dwelling on last year,” Boynton said.
Oklahoma State began last season with plenty of hope but stumbled to a 15-15 finish after the NCAA implemented a one-year postseason ban.
“I think the truth of the matter is, last year’s team, it was going to be hard to fight without having true team goals to be able to accomplish,” Boynton said. “There were certainly some more personal agendas that reared throughout the course of last year.”
Much of Oklahoma State’s hopes for this season rely on the returning trio of Avery Anderson III, Moussa Cisse and Bryce Thompson.
Thompson might have the biggest upside after averaging 10.6 points per game in his first season since transferring from Kansas.
The Cowboys lost several transfers and added two with immediate eligibility.
High Point transfer John-Michael Wright figures to be Oklahoma State’s starting point guard after averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season.
The Cowboys and Mavericks have plenty of recent history.
This is the third consecutive season the teams will have played in the season opener, with Oklahoma State winning each of the last two seasons — including an 88-45 victory at home to open last season.
The Cowboys lead the all-time series 12-1, winning seven consecutive games. Last year’s 43-point victory was the largest in the series.
Only four players who played in last year’s game return for the Mavericks, though, as Greg Young’s team features an influx of new faces.
The Mavericks are coming off an 11-18 season in Young’s first season.
UTA added a handful of junior college transfers in the offseason, a focus for Young, who was a longtime junior college coach.
A potential leader of the group is Marion Humphrey, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 8.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists at Salt Lake Community College last season.
“Just an elite athlete — fast, physical, can guard you, can finish,” Young told WAC hoops digest on Humphrey.
–Field Level Media
