Notes on Mike Boynton’s First Press Conference as Oklahoma State Head Coach

Mike Boynton was introduced as the 20th head coach of Oklahoma State on Monday in Stillwater. It was a 40-minute press conference, and OSU President Burns Hargis, athletic director Mike Holder and Boynton all spoke at the podium.

Here are my notes from the festivities in case you missed anything.

• I love Burns Hargis. OSU should have hired him to be the coach.

He opened like this: “Welcome to a very exciting day at Oklahoma State University. We re-kindled something special this last year. I have every expectation that excitement is going to grow … so get your tickets now!”

• Hargis noted that Holder made the recommendation to hire Boynton.

• Holder spoke briefly and introduced Boynton. He opened like this: “It’s great to see the players here. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. I never dreamed what was going to happen (when I showed up when I was 17).”

• Called Hargis a “transformational president.”

“We have great leadership at our university,” said Holder. Also thanked the regents for handling crisis management.

• As for the fans, Holder planted his tongue in his cheek and said, “Very, very passionate. Trust me, I heard from them. My email box was full. You have to have to have thick skin to open those emails. I read every one and responded to every one. I appreciated the passion you had — positive or negative, doesn’t matter. If you’re going to build something special, you have to have a product that inspires emotion.”

• Said he was called “a shriveled up old fossil” in one of them.

• Also thanked Brad Underwood. “I’d like to thank Brad Underwood. He did a lot of positive things. I saw a transformation in a lot of our players. Greatest blessing was people he brought in and surrounded himself with.”

• Then he addressed the elephant on Twitter in the room.

“Some of the people in the media question our commitment to basketball. We’ve never wavered in our commitment to basketball.. We’re going to give you an opportunity to dream big and win championships. Basketball is no exception. We’ve never wavered in that commitment, and we never will. No one should ever question our commitment.”

• On Boynton, Holder said, “Coaching is about family. When you see it reflected first-hand … it makes you feel pretty good. What I ask from him is that he love his players like his sons. I think he’ll embody every single thing he talks about.”

• Holder called out Dillard, Carroll and McGriff for learning from Boynton. I want all Holder/Dillard convos taped from now on.

• Holder: “(Boynton is) going to change lives because of the man he is and what he stands for. He embodies all the qualities I hold dear. They’re timeless. The principals that matter will be the same. We’re surrounded by greatness.

• He never listed the qualities.

• This was maybe my favorite quote from Holder: “It takes a village to create greatness.”

• The last thing Holder said was the most unintentionally funny. “We got a new leader, a new sheriff in town. We are the Cowboys. It’s time to saddle up and ride for the brand. And salute our new sheriff Mike Boynton.”

He said “ride for the brand”!

• Boynton took the stage and said, “This is a pretty unbelievable day. At 35 years old I did think I’d be a head coach. I had no idea it would be at OSU. Thank you. Thank you. A lot of people get credit. Dr. Hargis. Mr Holder. The board. The city of Brooklyn that raised me. All my friends … ”

It was all waterworks from there.

• Boynton continued … “My dad, my mom, my sisters. I didn’t have a brother. But I’ve always had brothers (looking at the team).”

• Boynton: This is about people. Real relationships. Trust, respect, hard work. We succeed together with your help. We support one another. We push each other to our goals. We challenge each other to be better. There’s a great opportunity here today.”

• He broke down over and over again. He was clearly overcome by the magnitude of the moment. And who wouldn’t be at the age of 35?

• Boynton: And thanks to Brad (Underwood). He’s part of the reason this is happening … but it’s about these guys. Every one of them. They know I care about them and I love them. They let me coach them that hard because they know I care. 10 at night, 6 in the morning. They can all call me for anything.

“This is not about Xs and Os — what plays I know — I know people. It’s about building men (from ages) 17-18 to 23-24 … and making a difference somehow, positively, in that time.”

• Boynton on Holder was hilarious and awesome. “We get great support. I’ve gotten to know Mike Holder really well in the last week. He’s not as bad as they say. He makes it seem like there’s a lot we have in common even though we’re from different parts of the world.

• But his stuff on his players was even better. “It’s our job to help them achieve their goals, whatever they may be. We have to help them understand what it takes to get (to the NBA) and provide them with the resources to make them better to get them there. Our staff is here for our players.”

• Lamont Evans was named associate head coach. Boynton said he’s “the brother he never had.”

• Boynton said this whole thing is not about the head coaching title but that it’s about kids going “from irresponsible, questionable decision-making to guys who really understand what life is about.”

• He mentioned the importance of repping the front of your jersey that says “Oklahoma State University.” Mike, it had better say Cowboys, and it had better be in cursive.

• He mentioned old players like Desmond, Big Country and Randy Rutherford. No Gottlieb!

• Boynton said at one point that he will figure it out as he goes and promised he’d figure out when to call a timeout.

• “The message to our fans is simple: This isn’t about me. It’s about them. The players need your support. They need the support of our fans, alums and boosters. So they can go back to wherever they work and live with pride.”

• “We can only do this thing one way, together. That’s it. Everybody. One accord. Pulling the same direction with each other. Fans, team alumni boosters administrators. We’re going to get this thing done. We’re going to win big because winning big is an expectation at Oklahoma State University.”

OK, that got me. So did this …

• “I’m no fan of good. I’ve got no interest in it. I want to be playing this weekend. I want to be great. I want to be nationally relevant because we can. We have. And we will again. We can only do it together. We will, all of us together, get this thing done. Like I told our guys, let’s work. Let’s work.

• He didn’t know where Stephen F. Austin was when he went there from South Carolina four years ago. “We didn’t find it in Austin, Texas.” Wished Underwood the best at his next destination.

• He said he had ideas of being the youngest head coach in the country, but not like this. He is clearly still stunned he got the job.

• He told about how he remembers Big Country breaking the backboard when he was a kid and about how his South Carolina team lost to Memphis in the first round in 2004 before OSU went on to beat them and go to the Final Four.

• Not sure his wife has ever seen him cry. “I don’t know where that came from, to be honest. I was overwhelmed. I’m a normal, genuine person who cares about other people and is authentic. I don’t know if I’m any better of a coach than any of the other candidates, but I’m committed to doing things the right way and caring about these guys on a daily basis.”

• No timetable for staff. I want to hire the best staff I possibly can. These guys will be co-coaches. They get to call me head coach. I wish they wouldn’t. The guys I want to hire will be every bit as qualified as (me and Lamont).”

• “Guys will actually believe in me. They know I’m invested in them as people first.”

• Foundation will be hard, tough man-to-man defense. “If you can’t figure it out defensively, you’re going to have a hard time playing.”

• Hasn’t thought about scheduling.

• Brad Underwood sent him a text congratulating him after his hire. Boynton sent back “Thanks.” Lol.

• Gotten messages from phone numbers he didn’t know (all the other OSU coaches).

• Loves baseball, wants to watch Matt Holliday play for the Yankees with Josh.

We will have more coverage on this later on, but it’s pretty clear Boynton job because he sold Mike Holder on building young men and not necessarily winning games. Holder loves to hear that kind of stuff (rightly so), and it’s evident that Boynton’s players will run through a wall for him to get Ws. I just hope they can defend the 3.