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Mike Boynton Stunned by Job Offer, Shared a Sweet Moment With His Dad

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Nobody was more surprised to be sitting in the Oklahoma State men’s basketball head coaching office exactly one week (almost to the hour) after the Pokes lost to Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament than Mike Boynton.

After interviewing for the Stephen F. Austin job last season (which he said helped prepare him to face Mike Holder and Co. this year), Boynton’s expectations could be described as “confident but measured.”

“Last Saturday, I’m sitting at my house with my wife and kids getting ready to go to Oklahoma City and having no thought in my mind that I would be the head coach at Oklahoma State,” Boynton told members of the media in a Saturday sit-down.

“That’s the beauty of our profession and how a guy from Brooklyn that nobody knows, kind of goes all over the country chasing the dream of becoming a head coach, and then happened in a way no one could have anticipated, no one could write this,” Boynton added.

“It doesn’t have to be written before for a guy to experience this. I’m thankful to Coach Holder and the Board of Regents for giving me this opportunity. I feel like I’m well prepared for this job.”

That remains to be seen. What doesn’t is that the story, thus far, at least for him, has been a thrill ride. He spoke poignantly about calling his pops after he found out the news. Who among us doesn’t share the same dream of calling pops after a massive promotion and stuck landing on a dream job?

“Very close to my dad, still very close to my dad,” Boynton added. “In fact, I still, and I feel bad about saying this, haven’t talked to my mom, but my dad is the megaphone, so I had to leave here about 15 minutes to get a suit and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to call dad, this thing will be viral.’

“I called dad and he didn’t know. He was working and he works for FedEx, drives trucks, drops packages off. I’ve got 90 seconds because he’s a talker. That’s how I opened (the conversation) ‘I’ve got 90 seconds but I want you to know that I was just named the head basketball coach at Oklahoma State.’

“I don’t think he wanted to talk to me anymore as much as he wanted to spread the news. He is just screaming and I can’t hear anything. I just said, ‘that’s my 90 seconds and I’ve got to go.’ It was awesome, it was great.”

That’s awesome.

I think it’s important here to address the dichotomy of what’s happening with this hire. I’ve seen a nuance-lacking divergence on social media that is befuddling. It is possible to believe the following statements.

  • Mike Holder made a bad hire.
  • I like Mike Boynton and want him to be good.

In fact, I think that’s where most Oklahoma State fans land.

The unfortunate part for Boynton is that he’s starting from a position of weakness instead of strength. He has to prove he’s good instead of simply not proving he’s bad. There’s a difference, and the fan support will reflect it.

Of course, in the end, everyone has to win basketball games, and if he does that at a wild clip, he will be beloved for years in Stillwater.

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