Mike Boynton Travels to See Former Cowboy in NBA Action
One of the best players in Oklahoma State history is still seeing love from the Cowboy basketball program.
OSU head coach Mike Boynton traveled to Tulsa Thursday night to see one of his former players. Former Cowboy Cade Cunningham was at the BOK Center as his Detroit Pistons played the Oklahoma City Thunder in a preseason game.
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After missing most of last season with an injury, Cunningham looked like himself in front of his former coach. In the Pistons’ 118-116 win, Cunningham posted 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Cunningham found his way to Detroit as the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He used his one season at OSU to boost his status as the best player in the country.
In the 2020-21 season, Cunningham averaged 20.1 points and shot 40% from 3-point range. The star guard led OSU to a 21-9 record and provided optimism to the program.
The Cowboys also went 11-7 in Big 12 play, both good for the best records in the Boynton era. The Cowboys fell to Texas in the Big 12 championship game, but most importantly, they made it to the NCAA Tournament.
Since Boynton took over in the 2017-18 season, Cunningham’s year is the only time he has taken OSU to the big dance. The upcoming season gives Boynton an opportunity to change that.
OSU looked poised to make it back last season after capping off a five-game winning streak with a mid-February victory against No. 11 Iowa State. But a subsequent five-game losing streak sunk the Cowboys to 16-14 to effectively end their hopes.
In the preseason Big 12 poll, OSU was picked to finish at 10. With a balance of young guys and more experienced players, Boynton hopes OSU can have a successful season.
“We were able to identify some guys that we really felt filled a need in areas that we thought would make our team better, help the freshmen come along, but also give us a chance in compete in what's the most competitive conference in the country,” Boynton said.
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Ivan is a sports media student at Oklahoma State University. He has covered OSU athletics since 2022 and also covers the OKC Thunder for Inside The Thunder and Thunderous Intentions.