Keylan Boone is Playing Catch Up and He's Doing It Fast
STILLWATER -- Shortly after the season begins with the 2020 Golden Window Tournament in Lincoln, Neb., on Nov. 25-28, in fact just a couple of days later, Kalib and Keylan Boone will turn 20-years-old. I'm not sure which of the Boone twins entered the world first, but there are some things each does a little better or is ahead of the other. Don't ask them which one is the better looking as that argument will last forever. Keylan will never be taller than Kalib. That isn't in the cards. On the other hand, Kalib probably won't knock down three-pointers at the same rate Keylan does. There is one area where one twin is threatening to catch the other.
Keylan (left) and Kalib (right) came to Oklahoma State after starring together in high school at Tulsa Memorial, but the two brothers have different personalities.
Bruce Waterfield - Oklahoma State University Athletics
Tulsa Memorial High School basketball head coach Bobby Allison warned me a couple of years ago as I prepared to sit down with Kalib and Keylan.
"Kalib will give you answers and he is going to be down here right on time," Allison said. "Keylan you may have to wait on and he might not give you the answers you're expecting."
That description loosely defines the two brothers; Kalib is squared away and could have entered the Marine Corps and handled the strict routine. Keylan came to college finding out that eating, sleeping, and studying on your own schedule isn't part of the Cowboy basketball or Mike Boynton routine. Seriously, Kalib operates his daily schedule like clockwork and is into a routine. It is the way he lives his life. It's what works for him. Keylan was known in high school to eat dinner late at night, study in the nick of time, and sleep, well, he'd sleep when he felt like it.
"That is where the maturity comes in and that started last year when they introduced study hall and they kind of helped me build my foundation," Keylan told me earlier this week when I asked if his routine had become more routine. "I don't think I ever do home work late now because I always get it done at study hall."
Keylan's schedule has changed and his head coach knew that it would while he was recruiting the twins. In fact, Mike Boynton is really discouraged with the recruiting moratorium on in-person contact. It simply does not allow for coaches to gain the needed background and familiarity with potential players they would bring into their program with the goal of making them better not just on the floor, but off the court as well.
"Yes, I am," Boynton answered when I asked if he was satisfied with the improvement Keylan was making in his maturity and discipline. "Quite honestly, we knew exactly what we were getting and that is why I spent so much time answering the question last week about recruiting. You have got to get to know these kids in order to help them have success and that is why it has been a struggle not being able to get in front of people and find out what makes them tick and what are their pitfalls and what is going to give them struggles when they get to your school."
Boynton was lobbying for more recruiting access to players now, and he insists that it could be a problem with the current class of recruits and future classes too. Boynton did say he did know plenty about the Boones. It helped in the transition to college for Keylan Boone.
"Those guys, having recruited them for three years, I knew all of the flaws and the potential and we were able to put those kids in position to have success because of that," Boynton explained.
The other motivator for Keylan is Kalib. When Kalib was invited to an NBA Showcase Camp for recruiting the summer before their senior season and Keylan wasn't. Keylan went with their AAU summer team to Arkansas for a tournament and was named MVP as he thoroughly dominated the event.
In high school, their numbers were always close. An example, Kalib had 1,181-points and Keylan scored 1,056-points. Kalib set a Tulsa Memorial record in blocked shots and Keylan was tops in three-point shooting percentage. They both were co-MVP in the Class 5A State Tournaments in 2018 and 2019, part of three-straight State Championships for Memorial. They were both on the The Oklahoman Super 5 those same years.
Last season as freshmen at Oklahoma State, Kalib ended up with more playing time that Keylan. Kalib averaged 5.8 points and 3.2 rebounds in Big 12 play. Keylan, who did not play quite as much averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds a game. He did score seven points and finish with four rebounds in the Cowboys home win over Bedlam rival Oklahoma.
Because of need as much as any aspect, Kalib Boone (22) saw more minutes in the freshman season for the twins. Make no mistake, they are competitive and Kalib's playing time motivated Keylan.
Bruce Waterfield - Oklahoma State University Athletics
Then when Yor Anei left the Cowboys early this summer making Kalib the post player of choice on the roster, Keylan knew he needed to step up more.
"Oh yeah, so when Yor left and Kalib got hit with 'you're the next big up' and then I had my talks with coach and he said, 'You're the only three that we've got now," started Keylan Boone. "This has been my opportunity to step up and mature and be a gym rat even more. As a freshman I was shying away from the light and trying to figure things out and now I'm taking that head on. I'm going to have to communicate more on the court and be a leader."
Before we got serious the other day about maturity and routine, I asked the simple question of whether he was practicing the way he knew he needed to this preseason.
"I'm practicing very good now," Keylan said. "I'm trying to find my consistent level and what I need to do to help the team out. I'm trying to do that every practice."
In order to produce those kind of practice performances, the fueling of his body, his eating habits, and sleeping habits have to be good, even great.
"I do eat; well, I have alarms for it now. Sometimes I might forget, but I have four alarms to eat," Boone said of the extremes for the "fly by the seat of your pants" guy to be on schedule. "That changed things. The sleep schedule, I'm doing fine. I'm getting enough sleep. I'm getting decent hours and I would say last year, my freshman year, I was actually getting more hours of sleep."
The biggest change has been with training. This is where both brothers needed the help of basketball strength coach Jake Manzelmann. In high school the Boones were dominant and they didn't need to be strong per se. This is the Big 12 and Division I and head coach Mike Boynton again, says this is where both Boones needed to buy in.
Give them credit. I think I remember the first time they were ever in the weight room not being able to lift the bar off of their chests, and now both of them have not only added weight, but they can move weight now," Boynton said of both twins. "Keylan is a better rebounder and Kalib is a better post scorer. Keylan is a better rebounder than the taller twin, but both bring great things to the table."
Shown in practice here, Keylan with the basketball guarded by Kalib are both stronger and more powerful. Kalib is weighing around 210 pounds and Keylan said he is around 200-to-205 pounds.
Bruce Waterfield - Oklahoma State University Athletics
"It was interesting to see how it progressed by adding a little weight," Keylan said of something that was critical to him and his brother. "Adding that weight moved my game to another level that I didn't know the it could look like. I didn't know weight was a huge thing but they emphasize it so much and they tell you that you need to play at this weight. At first, I didn't know the weight was that serious, but now going into my second year I see how it all translates and how it correlates. It has been a big jump and a big difference."
So many changes and now so many opportunities and I will predict that Keylan will play a lot this season. He gives the Cowboys a wing scorer that can really rebound, understands the defensive priority. On top of that he is stronger, eats better, and sleeps better and it all adds up.
"We know when to expect challenges and know when to expect them to have success and they've embraced that," Boynton said. "Kalib is still slightly more mature than Keylan, but Keylan has made a lot of great strides so far."
Not sure Keylan will ever pass Kalib in that department, but being in the same arena helps and there have to be a few differences or we'd never be able to tell them apart.
