Pokes Reflect On Disappointing, Satisfying Season

OSU's first season under Mike Boynton came to a close Wednesday night with a loss to Western Kentucky in the NIT quarterfinals.

It was a mixture of disappointment and satisfaction.

"Growing up a Cowboy, you know, kinda sucks that the last time we got to sing it was cause we lost," said OSU’s Mitchell Solomon. 

After the season ended 1 win short of a trip to NYC, it was time for reflection on a season where, despite disappointment on the night, they overcame plenty of adversity.

"We're almost 365 days into this thing, what a year.  Unbelievable group of kids who face more adversity than some people do in a lifetime," said Head Coach Mike Boynton. 

"Feel like what we've accomplished this year and the obstacles we've overcome has given people a sense of hope.  We've built the foundation they just have to build the pillars," said Solomon. 

Gone are players like Mitchell Solomon, Jeffrey Carroll, and Kendall Smith.  The mantra of "Let's Work" rings true even more so to get the program to where Boynton wants it to be.

"Not like we're going to start setting the NIT quarterfinal as the bar, but I think there's a stark difference, there's an extreme amount of optimism. I want to play on the last Monday of the college basketball season and this team will be the reason that one day we will," said Boynton. 

Boynton went out of his way to say the person who saw this before anyone else is Mike Holder. As for Boynton himself, he said he has not had any discussions with any other schools about head coaching vacancies.