'24 Coaching Carousel Thread

[StoopsBros]

Current Openings/Hirings​

TEAM​	FORMER​	INTERIM​	NEW​	DATE​	PREDICTION​
Arkansas	Eric Musselman (USC)		John Calipari	4/7
Bryant	Jared Grasso (resigned)	-	Phil Martelli Jr.	11/15	-
BYU	Mark Pope (Kentucky)		Kevin Young	4/16
Cal Poly	John Smith (fired)	N/A	Mike DeGeorge	3/26	Mike DeGeorge (3/25)
Canisius	Reggie Witherspoon (fired)		Jim Christian	4/8
Central Arkansas	Anthony Boone (fired)		John Shulman	3/15	John Shulman (3/14)
Charleston	Pat Kelsey (Louisville)		Chris Mack	3/29
Charleston Southern	Barclay Radebaugh (resigned)	Saah Nimley	Saah Nimley	3/4	-
Charlotte	Ron Sanchez (Virginia asst)	Aaron Fearne	Aaron Fearne	2/12	-
Chicago State	Gerald Gillion (Long Island asst)		Scott Spinelli	4/20
Coastal Carolina	Cliff Ellis (retired)	Benny Moss	Justin Gray	3/11	Justin Gray (3/10)
Cornell	Brian Earl (William & Mary)		Jon Jaques	4/5
DePaul	Tony Stubblefield (fired)	Matt Brady	Chris Holtmann	3/22	Chris Holtmann (3/13)
Detroit Mercy	Mike Davis (fired)		Mark Montgomery	4/3	Mark Montgomery (3/27)
Drake	Darian DeVries (West Virginia)		Ben McCollum	4/1	Ben McCollum (3/26)
Duquesne	Keith Dambrot (retired)		Dru Joyce	3/28	Dru Joyce (3/18)
Eastern Washington	David Riley (Washington State)		Dan Monson	4/12	Dan Monson (4/11)
Fairfield	Jay Young (resigned)	Chris Casey	Chris Casey	3/12	Chris Casey (2/14)
Florida A&M	Robert McCullum (fired)		Patrick Crarey II	4/17
Florida Atlantic	Dusty May (Michigan)		John Jakus	3/27
Fresno State	Justin Hutson (fired)		Vance Walberg	4/7
Gardner-Webb	Tim Craft (Western Carolina)	Jeremy Luther	Jeremy Luther	3/27	Jeremy Luther (3/17)
Hampton	Edward Joyner (fired)		Ivan Thomas	3/15	Ivan Thomas (3/11)
Houston Christian	Ron Cottrell (fired)		Craig Doty	3/15
Indiana State	Josh Schertz (Saint Louis)	Matthew Graves	Matthew Graves	4/10	Matthew Graves (3/17)
IUPUI	Matt Crenshaw (fired)		Paul Corsaro	3/25	Paul Corsaro (3/13)
James Madison	Mark Byington (Vanderbilt)		Preston Spradlin	3/29
Kentucky	John Calipari (Arkansas)		Mark Pope	4/12	Mark Pope (4/11)
Long Beach State	Dan Monson (fired)		Chris Acker	3/27	Chris Acker (3/13)
Louisville	Kenny Payne (fired)		Pat Kelsey	3/27
Loyola (MD)	Tavares Hardy (resigned)		Josh Loeffler	3/30	Josh Loeffler (3/30)
Marshall	Dan D'Antoni (forced retirement)		Cornelius Jackson	3/25
Maryland-Eastern Shore	Jason Crafton (fired)
Mercer	Greg Gary (fired)		Ryan Ridder	3/15
Michigan	Juwan Howard (fired)		Dusty May	3/24
Missouri State	Dana Ford (fired)		Cuonzo Martin	3/26
Morehead State	Preston Spradlin (James Madison)		Jonathan Mattox	4/5
Mount St. Mary's	Dan Engelstad (Syracuse asst)		Donny Lind	4/19
New Orleans	Mark Slessinger (Indiana State asst)		Stacey Hollowell	4/25
Ohio State	Chris Holtmann (fired)	Jake Diebler	Jake Diebler	3/17	Jake Diebler (3/16)
Oklahoma State	Mike Boynton (fired)		Steve Lutz	4/1	Steve Lutz (3/28)
Old Dominion	Jeff Jones (health issues)	Kieran Donohue	Mike Jones	2/29	Mike Jones (2/19)
Pacific	Leonard Perry (fired)	Josh Newman	Dave Smart	3/27
Pepperdine	Lorenzo Romar (fired)	-	Ed Schilling	4/2
Rice	Scott Pera (fired)		Rob Lanier	3/24
Saint Louis	Travis Ford (fired)		Josh Schertz	4/6	Josh Schertz (3/17)
Siena	Carmen Maciariello (fired)		Gerry McNamara	3/27
SMU	Rob Lanier (fired)		Andy Enfield	3/27	Andy Enfield (3/26)
South Carolina Upstate	Dave Dickerson (Ohio State asst)		Marty Richter	4/5
Southern Illinois	Bryan Mullins (fired)		Scott Nagy	3/28
Stanford	Jerod Haase (fired)		Kyle Smith	3/25	Kyle Smith (3/24)
UIC	Luke Yaklich (fired)		Rob Ehsan	3/22
USC	Andy Enfield (SMU)		Eric Musselman	4/4
Utah State	Danny Sprinkle (Washington)		Jerrod Calhoun	3/29
UT-Martin	Ryan Ridder (Mercer)		Jeremy Shulman	3/27
UTRGV	Matt Figger (fired)		Kahlil Fennell	4/4
UTSA	Steve Henson (fired)		Austin Claunch	3/17	Austin Claunch (3/16)
Vanderbilt	Jerry Stackhouse (fired)		Mark Byington	3/25	Chris Mack (3/17)
Washington	Mike Hopkins (fired)		Danny Sprinkle	3/25	Danny Sprinkle (3/11)
Washington State	Kyle Smith (Stanford)		David Riley	4/2
Western Carolina	Justin Gray (Coastal Carolina)		Tim Craft	3/13
Western Kentucky	Steve Lutz (Oklahoma State)		Hank Plona	4/2	Hank Plona (3/29)
West Virginia	Bob Huggins (resigned)	Josh Eilert	Darian DeVries	3/24	Mark Byington (3/5)
William & Mary	Dane Fischer (fired)		Brian Earl	3/23
Wright State	Scott Nagy (Southern Illinois)		Clint Sargent	3/28
Youngstown State	Jerrod Calhoun (Utah State)		Ethan Faulkner	3/30	Ethan Faulkner (3/30)

--------------------

Hot Seat​

TEAM​	COACH​	HEAT METER​	BUYOUT​	NOTES​
Albany	Dwayne Killings		Unsure	3rd year. Killings is 32-54 (15-28).
Arizona State	Bobby Hurley		$2M
Cal Poly	John Smith		$0	5 years. Win totals: 7, 4, 7, 7, 4.
Cal State Bakersfield	Rod Barnes		$0	3rd losing season in a row
Campbell	Kevin McGeehan		-	Last year of contract. Mediocre.
Canisius	Reggie Witherspoon		-	Time for a change
Central Arkansas	Anthony Boone		-	No idea if they'll fire Boone. Meh program.
Columbia	Jim Engles			Better this year but still meh
Dartmouth	Dave McLaughlin		-	7 years, 0 winning seasons
Detroit Mercy	Mike Davis		-	Edit: 1-31! It's time to start over.
Eastern Illinois	Marty Simmons			3 seasons (0 winning seasons)
Eastern Michigan	Stan Heath		-	Bad coach/bad program
Elon	Billy Taylor		-	Only year 2 but Elon may move on
Florida A&M	Robert McCullum
Florida International	Jeremy Ballard		-	4 straight losing seasons
Florida State	Leonard Hamilton		-	Retirement watch
Fresno State	Justin Hutson		-	Fresno is a tough team but not enough wins.
Hampton	Edward Joyner		-	Program is at rock bottom
Houston Christian	Ron Cottrell			Retirement watch
Idaho State	Ryan Looney
Indiana	Mike Woodson
IUPUI	Matt Crenshaw			3 straight losing seasons
La Salle	Fran Dunphy		-	FD is a legend. He's 75. Retirement watch.
Lindenwood	Kyle Gerdeman
Long Beach State	Dan Monson			Firing/retirement.
Louisiana-Monroe	Keith Richard			Retirement watch.
Louisville	Kenny Payne		-	One of the worst hires in recent memory.
LSU	Matt McMahon		-	Awful hire. Safe for 1 more year
Loyola (MD)	Tavares Hardy		-	6 years, 0 winning seasons
Marshall	Dan D'Antoni			D'Antoni is 76. Retirement watch.
Memphis	Penny Hardaway		-
Mercer	Greg Gary
Michigan	Juwan Howard
Mississippi Valley State	George Ivory			0-24. Worst team in D1.
Missouri State	Dana Ford		-	Trending down for Ford
New Orleans	Mark Slessinger			Program needs newness
Northeastern	Bill Coen
Northern Arizona	Shane Burcar
Oklahoma State	Mike Boynton		$6.7-8M	7 years, 1 NCAAT (Thanks Cade). Bad roster
Pacific	Leonard Perry
Pepperdine	Lorenzo Romar			Time to retire.
Portland State	Jase Coburn
Presbyterian	Quinton Ferrell
Rice	Scott Pera		-
Saint Louis	Travis Ford		$10M?	8 years = 1 NCAAT.
Southern Illinois	Bryan Mullins
Stanford	Jerod Haase		-	Haase recruits well. Doesn't win.
Stonehill	Chris Kraus
Tennessee Tech	John Pelphrey
UCF	Johnny Dawkins		-	NCAAT or bust? Tough team
USC	Andy Enfield		HUGE	Safe for another year but they suck
UTEP	Joe Golding
UTRGV	Matt Figger			Hard place to win at. Talent barren area.
UTSA	Steve Henson		-	8 years @ UTSA. 0 NCAATs.
Vanderbilt	Jerry Stackhouse
Villanova	Kyle Neptune			He'll get one more year
VMI	Andrew Wilson			Will likely get 1 more year. Shouldn't.
Washington	Mike Hopkins
William & Mary	Dane Fischer		-

 

[StoopsBros]

Candidate names to watch:

(coaches who could land new HC jobs)

Amir Abdur-Rahim (South Florida) - USF is one of the biggest surprises this season and AAR had prior success at Kennesaw State.
Gus Argenal (Cal State San Bernandino - D2) - former Arkansas assistant.
Chris Beard (Ole Miss) - if Musselman leaves Arky, watch for Beard's name to surface for that job
Mike Boynton (Oklahoma State) - there is gossip that if OSU fires him, he'd be a candidate at Coastal Carolina.
Mark Byington (James Madison) - he'll be hired elsewhere. Really good coach.
Scott Cross (Troy) - from Texas, very underrated coach.
Rick Croy (Cal Baptist)
Bryce Drew (Grand Canyon)
Pat Duquette (UMASS Lowell)
Dan Earl (Chattanooga)
Kim English (Providence) - for the sake of Friar fans, I hope they don't have to go through another coaching search (back to back seasons) but English is really, really good and can do better. May not be this year, though
Dan Evans (North Georgia - D2)
Jordan Fee (Gannon - D2)
Chris Gerlufson (San Francisco)
Justin Gray (Western Carolina) - Has the WCU program trending up.
A.W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky)
Eric Henderson (South Dakota State)
Chris Holtmann (former Ohio State) - fired but will be a HC next year if he wants to be
Alan Huss (High Point) - has recent ties to New Mexico and/or Creighton. Two jobs that could open.
Mike Jones (UNC Greensboro) - Who? Joke aside, this dude is a winner and deserves a higher mid major job
Robert Jones (Norfolk State)
Kyle Keller (Stephen F. Austin) - star isn't as bright but if someone calls him this year, he may jump at the opportunity
Pat Kelsey (Charleston)
Andy Kennedy (UAB) - former Ole Miss head coach. He might be in his 'happy place' but at the same time, I could see someone else come calling
Dustin Kerns (Appalachian State) - currently 20-5.
Matt Langel (Colgate)
Rob Lanier (SMU)
Chris Mack (unemployed) - former Xavier and Louisville head coach. He wants a job this offseason. I'd watch Saint Louis and Xavier.
Dusty May (Florida Atlantic) - window is closing and needs to strike while the iron is hot. He'll have numerous options to choose from.
Ben McCollum (Northwest Missouri State - D2) - one of the better D2 coaches out there.
Bucky McMillan (Samford) - has never coached outside the Birmingham, AL metro area but Samford is a damn good lower level team and he's going to field numerous calls this offseason.
Sean Miller (Xavier) - rumors of some NIL unhappiness at Xavier. Being linked to Ohio State already.
Wes Miller (Cincinnati) - I would bet he stays put
Mike Morrell (UNC Asheville) - what if Odom leaves VCU? They might call Morrell
Porter Moser (Oklahoma) - I think he's at OU next year but you can't ignore the possibility of him leaving. I struggle to see a fit.
Eric Musselman (Arkansas) - listed here because it feels like his Arkansas time is over. There are strong Louisville rumors already.
Ryan Odom (VCU) - wins everywhere he goes. Son of Dave Odom.
Lamont Paris (South Carolina) - the Gamecocks are one of the biggest surprises this season. It's Ohio State or extension in all likelihood.
Joe Pasternack (Cal Santa Barbara) - should have left after last season
Bob Richey (Furman) - Furman isn't as good this year but Richey is a damn good X's and O's coach.
David Riley (Eastern Washington) - Riley is doing a good job at EWU and Riley has been at EWU his whole (early) career but what if.....Wazzu calls him?
Takayo Siddle (UNC Wilmington) - only 37 years old and doing a damn good job....yeah, it's probably time to climb the ladder.
Kyle Smith (Washington State) - with Wazzu being relegated to mid-major status + their current success, it seems like an ideal time for Smith to find a new home
Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago) - 32 years old!!
Chris Victor (Seattle) - the job he's done at Seattle has been low-key amazing. Very tough job with a terrible gym and little-to-no resources.
Will Wade (McNeese State) - NCAA stuff aside, Wade is a damn good basketball coach and someone will relish the opportunity to hire him

 

[WichitaSooner]

Thanks for putting this together. I had no idea Detroit Mercy has a bagel in the win column. Yikes!

 

[WichitaSooner]

I'm not done on the Hot Seat and coaching candidates list but this is major news so I wanted to start the thread.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1757811126304182672

Now that is a decisive move by an AD! I knew things were going downhill there, but figured they would wait till the end of the season.

 

[StoopsBros]

Thanks for putting this together. I had no idea Detroit Mercy has a bagel in the win column. Yikes!

They're favored by 5.5 tonight. Oddly enough. I'll probably take that line, lol.

------

And of course Trilly lists Porter. He's becoming Moser's defacto agent at this point.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1757812533476388969

 

[AnotherSoonerInTX]

I'm not done on the Hot Seat and coaching candidates list but this is major news so I wanted to start the thread.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1757811126304182672

Per Pete Thamel, tOSU owes Chris Holtmann $14 million.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1757814022743679033

Makes Porter's buyout look small.

 

[hoopsaustin]

Per Pete Thamel, tOSU owes Chris Holtmann $14 million.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1757814022743679033

Makes Porter's buyout look small.

Id take Holtmann over Moser in a heartbeat based on their respective bodies of work

 

[TINY]

Holtmann has been mediocre at best at Ohio state, which is a better job than ou is in its current state unfortunately.

Missed the tourney 3 out of 7 years and never made it past the 2nd round. Best year was with Thad’s roster. Steady decline since.

 

[StoopsBros]

 

[TINY]

Wes miller seems like a meh hire to me. I hope they pick him as I love seeing the Ohio suck lose.

 

[red recluse]

michigan job has to come open too, i would think.

 

[StoopsBros]

Wes miller seems like a meh hire to me. I hope they pick him as I love seeing the Ohio suck lose.

Too many Millers, lol. Even Archie up at Rhode Island was on staff at Ohio State at one time.

My guess right now would be Sean gets the first call. It makes a lot of sense and there are rumors that Sean isn't totally happy at Xavier.

 

[StoopsBros]

Via SportsLine oddsmakers: Who will be the next full-time Ohio State basketball coach?

• Lamont Paris +250
• Sean Miller +400
• Dusty May +500
• Chris Mack +700
• Buzz Williams +800
• Wes Miller +900
• Greg McDermott +1000
• Scoonie Penn +1300
• Anthony Grant +1500
• Nate Oats +1700
• Eric Musselman +1800
• Josh Schertz +2000
• Pat Kelsey +2000

Next Ohio State basketball coach odds: Lamont Paris, Sean Miller, Dusty May favored to replaced fired Chris Holtmann - SportsLine.com

Earlier this month, SportsLine offered odds on whether embattled Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtman would be back next season, with No as ...

www.sportsline.com

 

[StoopsBros]

The lists are still under construction. Need to add more candidate names, buyouts, etc.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1758189994567516641

 

[TINY]

The lists are still under construction. Need to add more candidate names, buyouts, etc.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1758189994567516641

That is savage from Goodman

 

[CoachTalk]

OSU rumors are they are keeping Boyton another year. No one wants to pay.

He called out the Athletic dept in Tulsa World Article. OSU has the least amount of NIL budget at around 500k

 

[StoopsBros]

Bill Haisten: Candid Mike Boynton responds to OSU chatter, 'This is about talent acquisition and retention'

Oklahoma State's success in the Big 12 Conference will be difficult to achieve unless there is a strengthened commitment to name-image-likeness resources for Cowboy basketball.

tulsaworld.com

Spoiler: Article

Bill Haisten: Candid Mike Boynton responds to OSU chatter, 'This is about talent acquisition and retention'​

Bill Haisten​

Tulsa World Sports Columnist & Writer


By nature, Mike Boynton is a competitor. As an All-New York City high school basketball player in Brooklyn, and as a guard at South Carolina and now as the seventh-year head coach at Oklahoma State, he was built for competition.

In response to a Sunday Tulsa World column in which there was speculation regarding his future as the Cowboy coach, Boynton contacted the World and during a half-hour interview competed on behalf of himself.

Acknowledging that his job security is an everyday discussion topic within the Oklahoma State fan base, Boynton said, “For everyone who wants me to be fired, that’s fine. They can say, ‘You’re not performing at the expected level.’ They are well within their right to say that.”

However, Boynton added, “they can hire Billy Donovan or Phil Jackson or the coach at Langston or whoever,” but OSU success in the Big 12 Conference will be difficult to achieve unless there is a strengthened commitment to name-image-likeness resources for Cowboy basketball.

“You’ve watched a lot of sports,” Boynton said. “The teams with the better players — they’re usually the ones who usually win. It’s a simple rule of thumb.
“This is about talent acquisition and retention.”

Before the summer of 2021, when NIL and the transfer portal began to have such a huge impact on the building and maintenance of college rosters, Boynton had an 18-win season and two 21-win seasons. During Cade Cunningham’s only college season in 2020-21, before he would become the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick overall, OSU recorded the program’s only NCAA Tournament victory since 2009.

Because of transgressions committed by former OSU assistant coach Lamont Evans, who was a Cowboy staff member only during the Brad Underwood head-coaching season of 2016-17, Boynton’s 2021-22 squad was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament.

Six of Eddie Sutton’s 16 Oklahoma State teams advanced to the Sweet Sixteen level of the NCAA Tournament, and the 1995 and 2004 Cowboys surged to the Final Four. Since Sutton resigned in 2006 — with Sean Sutton, Travis Ford, Underwood and Boynton in the head-coaching role — OSU is 2-7 in the NCAA Tournament.

Since NIL and the portal changed everything during the summer of 2021, Boynton’s OSU records are 45-45 overall and 19-28 in the Big 12.

The 2023-24 Cowboys are 10-14 overall and, with a league mark of 2-9, occupy last place in the conference standings. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Oklahoma State hosts the 19th-ranked BYU Cougars.

From his office on the second floor of Gallagher-Iba Arena, Boynton can see an ongoing project — yet another renovation of the Cowboy football program’s Boone Pickens Stadium.

“I’m coming up on the end of my seventh season as the head coach,” Boynton said. “What have you heard about (the possibility) of any significant upgrades for the men’s basketball program in seven years?”

A program’s NIL war chest has become an immeasurably important piece in a coach’s ability to score talent and keep that talent for multiple seasons. Because of NIL and the portal, comparing Sutton’s first seven OSU seasons to Boynton’s seven seasons is a comparison of an apple and an orange.


That’s what Boynton wanted to discuss with the Tulsa World.

“This isn’t 1995,” he said. “The world is different now, and to an extreme degree, the world of college athletics is different. People want to question when I call timeouts and what kind of offense (the Cowboys run). I’m cool with that. But the roster is where it is because the college recruiting landscape is different.

“I think (most) people are unwilling to accept that it is very different. I have never, in 19 years, had an issue (with) recruiting good players. Ever. I’ve never had an issue with building good relationships with kids and their families, and getting kids to buy into a vision.”

A question for Boynton: How many of the 14 current Big 12 programs are known to be spending at what would be considered a reasonable yet effective level?

“Without naming specific schools, I’ll tell you what I know,” Boynton replied. “There are at least six programs operating above $2 million (on 2023-24 NIL resources) for their roster.

“There are three or four others that operate between $1 million and $2 million, and we are last. We’re barely over $500,000 in total expenses (committed to basketball athletes).”

Boynton indicated that he and OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg have “talked many times about the state of the program and the things required to be successful in today’s climate.”

In 2020, Boynton recalls, “I recruited the best class of kids that I’ve ever had. Obviously, Cade Cunningham was in that class. Rondel Walker also was highly recruited. The year before that, we had the Boones (twin brothers Kalib and Keylan from Tulsa’s Memorial High School). We had Avery Anderson.”

A year later, Boynton stocked his roster with transfers who had been at significant programs. Included in that group were big man Moussa Cisse, who at Memphis had been the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year; Bryce Thompson, who originally signed with Kansas after having been a state champion and McDonald’s All-American at Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School; Woody Newton, who had gotten substantial playing time at Syracuse; and Tyreek Smith, whose college career began at Texas Tech.

“And then,” Boynton said, “after July of 2021, NIL and the portal came into play.”

Since NIL compensation began to drive the decision-making of players, Oklahoma State’s incoming transfers previously had been at High Point, at Texas State, at East Carolina, at North Florida and at Jacksonville.

“I didn’t make a (strategic) decision to suddenly start recruiting guys from low-major programs,” Boynton said.

For OSU, Cisse was the 2021-22 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.

“I’d like to get (another Cisse-caliber transfer), except it now costs a lot of money to get that type of guy,” Boynton said. “And not only does it cost a lot of money to get (a transfer of that caliber), but it costs a lot to keep him.”

Because of the prevalence of second- and third-school veteran players on rosters, Boynton stated, “college basketball is as old as it’s been” since the ’90s. During the ’80s, it was common for some of basketball’s brightest stars — like Georgetown’s Patrick Ewing, North Carolina’s Michael Jordan and Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon — to play three or even four seasons at the college level. At that time, the superstars of college basketball were as celebrated as the superstars of the NBA.

Also, because of the severe impact of COVID-19, all scholarship athletes who were college student-athletes in 2019-20 were granted an additional year of eligibility. The term “COVID year” was coined, and there are tons of older athletes who currently are capitalizing on that extra season.

Meanwhile, Boynton’s OSU team leads the Big 12 in points scored and minutes played by first-year college players. Thompson is a senior veteran of 104 college games, but he is sidelined for the rest of the season after having undergone shoulder surgery.

OSU freshman Brandon Garrison is a former Del City star and McDonald’s All-American. At 6-foot-11 and 245 pounds, he is freakishly athletic and bouncy — but he also is 19 years old. Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson is 7-foot-2 and 260 pounds, and his age is 23.

OSU’s inexperience “is a problem in this league,” Boynton said.

Boynton is paid $2.5 million a year and his contract extends through the 2027-28 season. As of April 1, the buyout of the remainder of his contract would be equal to about 67% of the money owed to him, or about $6.7 million.

The Sunday Tulsa World column included a reference to the buyout and to Oklahoma State University’s emphasis on football over the last 20 years: Might Weiberg choose to spend $6.7 million on a basketball coaching change or would the university prefer to funnel that money to the NIL pot for football?

“That doesn’t help you be good in basketball,” Boynton stated. “You have to spend the money to get good basketball players.

“Tyreek Smith did not want to leave Oklahoma State. He came in my office three times and asked what we could do for him. He went to SMU. We can’t beat SMU to keep our player? Two years in a row, TCU took one of our best players (Rondel Walker and Avery Anderson).”

“Our fans believe we should be better than TCU,” Boynton added, “but how can we be better when TCU can come up here and take our players?”

The nearly anything-goes nature of NIL has soured a lot of fans on college athletics. Most college coaches would never be publicly critical of NIL or the portal because they wouldn’t want to alienate current players and recruits. Most transfers and current blue-chip high school recruits care a lot more about the NIL dynamic than they do about a program’s tradition and figures like Mr. Iba, Eddie Sutton, Bryant “Big Country” Reeves and Marcus Smart.

However, if coaches were injected with truth serum, there would be coast-to-coast complaints about the never-ending challenge of, as Boynton puts it, “talent acquisition and retention.”

College basketball coaching seems to have twice as difficult since 2021, and now Boynton has an added layer of stress: the chatter about his job security.

On average this season, there are about 7,000 empty seats for OSU home basketball games. It doesn’t feel like fans are staying away because of a specific disapproval of Boynton. Everyone appears to like him. It seems more than the fans are disapproving of OSU’s 2021-24 records of 45-45 and 18-29, while lacking the understanding of the Cowboy program’s deficit in NIL duels for talented players.

“Everything we’re talking about – no one cares,” Boynton concluded. “I don’t have any desire to make excuses. I don’t want to be that guy.

“I have an 11-year-old son who is very (aware) of this situation, and I tell him, ‘Bad things happen, son. You can control your response to it and how you treat people. There’s always an opportunity to take the high road.’

“When I’m in front of my team, I have to take that high road. I have to give them confidence. We have to go into every game with the belief that we are going to win.”

 

[sooner333]

OSU rumors are they are keeping Boyton another year. No one wants to pay.

He called out the Athletic dept in Tulsa World Article. OSU has the least amount of NIL budget at around 500k

Seems like coaching purgatory for Boynton. But, I guess if OSU wouldn’t have NIL money for the next coach, there’s no good reason to make a change (at great expense).

 

[StoopsBros]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1758254801211519452

the other name being linked heavily is App State HC Dustin Kerns

 

[SoonerBounce13]

During Cade Cunningham’s only college season in 2020-21, before he would become the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick overall, OSU recorded the program’s only NCAA Tournament victory since 2009.

Dang