Boynton and Co. Added Two Relatively Unknown, yet Talented Players in 2020 Class

On the first day of the spring signing period this past Wednesday, Mike Boynton and Oklahoma State added two relatively unknown, yet talented players to the 2020 class.

STILLWATER – The graduation of the four seniors from the 2019-20 roster was tough, especially since they didn’t get a chance to go out on their own terms. Oklahoma State was playing just about as well as anyone in the Big 12 Conference and had just completed one of the best last second wins they’ve seen in a long time against Iowa State in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Lindy Waters III, Cameron McGriff, Thomas Dziagwa and Jonathan Laurent brought a lot to the table, so Mike Boynton and Co. needed to try and find a wide array of players to replace the several aspects the Pokes were losing.

“Just an overarching recruiting approach, it starts with your roster,” Mike Boynton said during Thursday’s Zoom call. “Everything starts with who you actually have and then what you are gonna try to accomplish and how you are gonna try to do it. Obviously for us, we saw a glaring need to replace the guys we were losing with some guys who are proven.”

The proven player that was added to the roster was sharpshooting grad transfer guard Ferron Flavors Jr out of Cal Baptist. Flavors adds experience and a fantastic 3-point ability to the mix. This past season, Flavors averaged 13.4 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. He also knocked down 93 3-pointers this past season at a 44% clip – that’s 19 more than Dziagwa made, though Flavors took 34 more shots.

“You’ve got a guy in Ferron [Flavors Jr.] who, everywhere he’s been, every year has made shots at a pretty efficient level from 3-point range and his ability to accept that that’s his responsibility for us,” Mike Boynton said. “Sometimes the challenge is guys get so caught up in player development and versatility that they don’t want to embrace the thing that they do best. I think that he’s somebody that’s willing to embrace that and talking to Cade about Cade’s ability to help him have success in his last year of college basketball is something that we certainly thought was very, very attractive to what we needed.”

Before Cal Baptist, Flavors was at Fairfield University where he knocked down 95 3-pointers. Before Fairfield, he played at South Mountain Community College where he averaged 17.6 points per game.

Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe

As for the second of the two talented prospects, I present to you Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe. Every OSU hoops fan has heard of him, but I’d venture to say not too many other people have and that’s including recruiting sites.

“If Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe was a U.S. high school basketball player, he would be a top-20 player in the country,” Boynton said. “He is really, really good. The thing that I like the most is he wants to be the best he can be, and nothing else matters. He doesn’t care what position he plays or how hard he has to work or what sacrifices he has to make, he just wants to work and will himself to being the best he’s capable of. I think because of that attitude and because of his approach, he’ll get pretty close to maximizing his ability.”

Moncrieffe, a 6-7, 205-pound forward out of Orangeville Prep in Ontario, Canada, currently checks in as the No. 147 ranked prospect in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the first two-time BioSteel All-Canadian Player of the Year, an award that’s been won by NBA lottery picks R.J. Barrett and Thon Maker.

Throughout his senior season, Moncrieffe averaged 21.8 points on 57.0% shooting from the floor, 7.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

“From a pure basketball standpoint, he continues to add to our length, our range, our athleticism, our defensive versatility,” Boynton said. “Talk about a kid from a great family, a great program in Orangeville. He was coached hard, so nothing’s gonna really shock him. He’s a guy who understands, in some ways similar to Rondel [Walker], that right now, when he steps on the court his best ability to impact a game is on the defensive end. Some of the other stuff he has to continue to learn, but when you got guys who walk in the door and relish in the opportunity to be defensive stoppers, you got something that you can build with.”

Add those two guys to a young and talented roster already on campus led by Isaac Likekele and Yor Anei, as well as the No. 1 overall prospect in the country Cade Cunningham and two other four-star guards in Rondel Walker and Donovan Williams, the 2020-21 season looks to be a lot of fun.