Oklahoma State basketball hit the reset button, looking to get back on track after an abysmal season.
Since the 2004 Final Four run, Oklahoma State basketball has been far from successful, winning just 4 tournament games in the past 20 seasons, and just one since 2009. The Cowboys faithful were hoping Mike Boynton would turn that around, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the 4-14 record in conference play sealed his fate.
Now, they turn to Steve Lutz, a coach who has nothing but success in college basketball, winning 20+ games in all three seasons as a Division 1 coach, and more importantly three tournament appearances. Going from Western Kentucky to Oklahoma State is a big jump, but the team feels confident in his coaching abilities that he’ll be able to turn it around in a few short years.
As mentioned earlier, they’ve hit the reset button, bringing in a new coach, and returning just 10% of their minutes from last season. However, they return their most important player, Bryce Thompson. Thompson has been a star ever since transferring to his home state, but he missed most of conference play with an injury. If he’s back to full health, Oklahoma State can keep things interesting next season.
Something to note about this team is it will have experience. Nine of the ten projected depth chart are upperclassmen with seven of those being seniors. Sometimes, experience trumps talent in college basketball, and they certainly have that.
Among the transfer pickups for Oklahoma State basketball are Khalil Brantley and Arturo Dean. The two averaged 15 PPG and 13.4 PPG, respectively, last season and are more than capable of doing so again.
The Big 12 will be tough as ever, and on paper, it would be a huge shock if this team surpasses the 4 conference wins from last year, but with a culture reset, it’s definitely possible.
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Head coach: Steve Lutz (1st season at Oklahoma State, 4th season overall)
2023-24 record: 12-20 (4-14)
2024 postseason finish: No postseason
Notable departures:
- Javon Small (15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.1 APG)
- Eric Dailey (9.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.5 APG)
- John Michael-Wright (8.7 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 0.8 APG)
- Brandon Garrison (7.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 APG)
- Quion Williams (7.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.2 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- Not Available
Projected Rotation
PG: Khalil Brantley (5-11, 180, Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 15.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 SPG (La Salle)
SG: Davonte Davis (6-3, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 5.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.0 APG (Arkansas)
SF: Bryce Thompson (6-5, 200, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 11.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.5 APG
PF: Robert Jennings II (6-8, 225, Jr.)
2023-2024 stats: 4.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, 52.7 FG% (Texas Tech)
C: Abou Ousmane (6-9, 255, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 6.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.2 BPG (Xavier)
6: Arturo Dean (5-10, 165, Jr.)
2023-2024 stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, 3.4 SPG (FIU)
7: Brandon Newman (6-4, 200, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 10.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.3 SPG (Western Kentucky)
8: Jamyron Keller (6-1, 210, So.)
2023-2024 stats: 6.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 49.6 FG%
9: Marchelus Avery (6-8, 210, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 7.6 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.7 APG (UCF)
10: Patrick Suemnick (6-7, 225, Gr.-Sr.)
2023-2024 stats: 4.1 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 0.2 APG, 53.9 FG% (West Virginia)
Oklahoma State Basketball Team MVP: Bryce Thompson
Bryce Thompson never turned into the 5-star that he was labeled coming out of high school, but he is still the heart and soul of this Oklahoma State basketball team. When he’s hot, he’s usually the best player on the court and can score easily. However, consistency has always been an issue. He has a great midrange shot, and has started to showcase a little bit of a three-point shot over the past two seasons. He had one stretch last season where he shot 13-26 from deep. However, he also had a stretch where he shot 3-15.
The big question will be the injury. Thompson should be good to go, as the injury would have occurred over 9 months from the new season’s tip, so he’s had more than enough time to recover. He’ll have a much different team to gel with, but his on and off-court leadership should lead to a smooth transition.
Oklahoma State Basketball make-or-break player: Arturo Dean
Despite being just 5-11, Dean was terrific last year for FIU. He averaged 13.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.0 APG, and most notably 3.4 steals per game. Those 3.4 steals per game were the most in all of college basketball and by a large margin. Dean is very shifty and smart and a nightmare in the passing lanes. He took a leap from his freshman to sophomore year, but the big question is if he can maintain this level of skill in the Big 12.
Dean played one Big 12 opponent last year, UCF, in FIU’s season opener. He scored 2 points on 1-7 shooting, had four turnovers, and fouled out. Against FAU, a top 15 team at the time of the game, he scored 4 points on 2-12 shooting and turned the ball over 6 times. He did score 19 points on 7-16 shooting against Miami, but the small sample size isn’t encouraging. With every game being an elite matchup once the calendar year starts, he’ll have to step up, which he is capable of doing, we just haven’t seen it consistently.
Key analytic: Tempo
Like Ricky Bobby, Steve Lutz likes to go fast. Western Kentucky finished first in tempo last season. Their 75.3 possessions per 40 minutes was the highest of any team in three years. He comes to a team that finished 205th in that category last season. Luckily, there won’t be much of a learning curve since it’s pretty much a brand-new team, but expect this team to run up and down the floor and make teams play at their speed instead of vice versa. It’ll be interesting when they take on a team like Houston, which specializes in slowing teams down.
Oklahoma State Basketball 2024-25 projections
Projected conference finish: 16th in Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling: NIT Appearance