Mike Boynton on the Growth and 'Unbelievable Potential' of Kalib Boone
STILLWATER -- It's been fun watching Kalib Boone grow throughout the last 12 months with Oklahoma State basketball. When he signed with the Pokes, Boone weighed roughly 170-pounds. By the end of the season, he was close to 210.
In the Zoom call Monday afternoon with Mike Boynton, Bill Haisten of the Tulsa World said that he's seen Ka. Boone recently and that he looks really good. While he hasn't been participating in on-campus workouts, I think that's a pretty good sign he's going to show up even bigger than when the season ended in March.
In late February, Boone picked up the first Big 12 weekly honors of his career after he posted a career-high 16 points in the 73-70 upset of then No. 24 Texas Tech.
He averaged just 4.9 points on the season, but he posted 76 points in the final nine games of the season. He grew tremendously as the season wore on and now with the departure of Yor Anei to the transfer portal, he's poised to the be leading big man for the Pokes this season.
“That kid’s got unbelievable potential,” Boynton said during a Zoom call Monday. “His confidence is growing. The success he had as a freshman is one I’m sure will spill over. The opportunity to play with a group of guys he knows really well from last year, being comfortable in college basketball now and then being infused with — Cade’s a unique talent that can help him be even better — where, I’m not gonna go too far, but I’m not sure he’s gonna have to spend four years in college before he can go play professional basketball.”
Those are some big-time words there from Mike Boynton. There haven't been too many guys throughout the past decade for Oklahoma State that's played less than four years for the Pokes before going pro.
Also, considering what Boynton had to say about young Ka. Boone when he was just entering high school.
“I joke with him today,” said Boynton, “when he left our camp in the summer of 2016 I believe, I was like, ‘Man, it’s a shame. That kid’s really tall. If he could play a little bit better, he could be really good.'”
As mentioned above, there's no doubt depth is going to be an issue for the Pokes down low. The departure of Yor Anei and Hidde Roessink, both to the transfer portal, has made an impact, but the Cowboys still have some size.
Incoming freshmen Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Montreal Pena check in a 6-7 and 6-9 respectively, while Ka. Boone is pushing 6-10.
“I don’t want to discount having taller guys on your team,” Boynton said. “We want length and athleticism and all that. My job is to focus on what we have. I don’t look at this thing as a what you don’t have and why you can’t be successful. We’ll find a way with the talent we have, with the versatility we have, to put a successful system in place and give these guys an opportunity to have a lot of success as a group.”
But the way the roster has come together with the returning fast-paced talent of Isaac Likekele and Avery Anderson III, combined with the explosive of past-paced play of Cade Cunningham and Moncrieffe, I think 2020-21 is going to be a fun year to watch.
