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Meet the new OSU Basketball Assistant Coaching Staff

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Brad Underwood has been a busy man since he agreed to become the head basketball coach in Stillwater around a month ago. In addition to hitting the recruiting trail, he has worked to fill out his coaching staff with new blood. A healthy mix of OSU ties and his own connections.

Lamont Evans, Mike Boynton, Jr. and Denny Henderson have all agreed to come on board and serve on his staff, each bringing unique strengths and backgrounds to the team. Let’s take a look at each and how they might impact the program going forward under Underwood.

Lamont Evans — South Carolina

Evans is plucked straight from the Frank Martin/Brad Underwood coaching tree, having spent five years together at Kansas State and South Carolina. Evans will fill the role of Butch Pierre with a reputation as a strong recruiter. Underwood had this to say about Lamont.

“We’re very fortunate to have Lamont join the Cowboy family,” said Underwood. “I take tremendous comfort with Lamont in terms of who he is and what he stands for. His ability to work and interact with our players is second to none. He has established recruiting ties all over the country, and I consider him one of the top recruiters in the country. There’s no doubt he’ll benefit our program and our student-athletes for years to come.”

Evans himself was a standout point guard, earning all-state honors in 1996 at Hallandale High School in Hallandale, Florida before moving on to Seminole Junior College in Sanford, Florida and St. Catharine College in St. Catharine, Kentucky.

He ended his college career at Drake, earning all Missouri Valley honors. After seven years of professional ball, he transitioned into the coaching ranks with Frank Martin at Kansas State, who had similar praise as Underwood.

“Though young in actual experience, Lamont was preparing to coach even during his playing days,” Martin said. “He is very well connected in the world of grassroots basketball and has great knowledge of the game.”

Evans helped develop standout guards Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen while at Kansas State, and was instrumental in bringing in the No. 23 recruiting class in 2013-2014. His class of 2015 was even more impressive, bringing in McDonald’s All American P.J. Dozier and other four stars Chris Silva and Eric Cobb. The Cowboys are in good hands with Evans on staff, and should not drop off too far, if at all, from what we saw out of Travis Ford’s staff in terms of recruiting (one of Ford’s supposed strengths).

Mike Boynton Jr. — Stephen F. Austin

Mike Boynton Jr. spent three seasons with Underwood at Steven F. Austin, and was considered for the head coaching position there before following Underwood to OSU. Prior to the remarkable run at SFA with Underwood, Boynton spent four years at his own alma mater, South Carolina (notice a trend?), including 2012-2013 with Underwood at USC.

As a player, Boynton ranked fourth all time in USC history in 125 career games and finished top 10 in career 3-pointers made. Boynton initially hails from Brooklyn, New York, where he was first team all-New York City as a senior. He also identifies as a strong recruiter, bringing in the No. 17 class in the country (Rivals) in 2010. Boynton has strong ties up and down the east coast, an area of the country that has not always been accessible to the Cowboys in the past.

Denny Henderson — Boise State

Here is where we see a different kind of coach from the first two. If you have any background with high school basketball in the state of Texas, you’ve probably heard of Denny Henderson. He boasts over 700 wins and four state titles. Henderson went 708-172 (.805) in 25 years as a prep head coach in Texas, and was named 2012 MaxPreps National Coach of the Year while at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. He also coached a couple of Cowboy studs a few years back in Flower Mound by the names of Phil Forte and Marcus Smart.

The last three years, Henderson has been on staff at Boise State.

Despite coaching two of the most dynamic guards in recent Oklahoma State history in high school, Henderson has a reputation for a strong defensive teacher, as well as taking on the responsibility of coaching the Broncos big men the last few years. Henderson has his bachelor’s in History and Physical Education from Austin College as well as a Master’s in Education.

Overall, I believe Cowboy basketball fans have a ton to be excited about with the new additions to the staff. Boynton Jr. and Evans are young, strong recruiters with background with Underwood. They’ve coached with him (and Boynton under him) so they have an existing foundation and understanding of what he expects on a day to day.

In less than a month, Arizona Freshman transfer Justin Simon (former 5 star point guard from Arizona) has visited OSU and expressed excitement about his trip to Stillwater as well as four star forward Alpha Diallo (visited over the weekend) who hails from Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, NH.

Expect the new additions to the staff to recruit strong talent both in-state and nationally going forward, helping equip a head coach (Underwood) that just went 89-14 in three years as a head coach at Stephen F Austin.

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