Oklahoma State Head Coach Steve Lutz Has to 'Make Some Decisions'
Not only is Oklahoma State's basketball head coaching hire official -- it's real now. Steve Lutz underwent his introductory presser, making his arrival more than real. The program is his, and he's ready to take over his fourth program in three years.
"The time is now. It's time to win," Lutz exclaimed on Thursday.
The message is simple. Lutz has shown his ability to quickly turn programs around. In his two stops as a head coach -- spanning over three years -- Lutz has made the NCAA Tournament each season. He's done so with the transfer portal.
In making the program his and setting things up to compete not only long-term but in the short term, Lutz has some decisions to make. This has to do with the current iteration of the roster along with the support staff around him.
“Well, I’ve gotta make some decisions here,” Lutz said. “I’ll meet with some of the guys that were on Coach Boynton’s staff. I know some of them from my years of coaching — then just kinda make the best decision for us moving forward. Obviously, I’ve done this for a long time and have a lot of people that have worked with me and even worked for me. Just like players, you’ve gotta have guys that are of high character, high moral standard and then are gonna work extremely, extremely hard to help Oklahoma State get to where we wanna go.”
There's a standard at Oklahoma State -- and that doesn't change with Lutz. He's going to bring in the right support staff to uphold that standard. The staff around him is going to help him establish and build a culture in Stillwater that promotes winning basketball. The only changes won't be coming with his assistant coaches, though.
"We have to help make some additions to this basketball team," Lutz said. "Now, these guys don't know me and they're going to get to know me over the next couple of weeks. As I told them, I come into this thing with no preconceived notions. I want every one of them to stay. If they want to stay, we'd love to have them, but if they don't, no problems. Go find your new place and we'll wish you well. Once they decide to stay, then it becomes our responsibility to figure out a way to retain them."
It's clear Lutz understands what's ahead of him. He needs his assistant coaches to help him win the rest of the transfer portal period, which ends May 1. He has a roster to rebuild during that time, and he's doing so all while settling in Stillwater.
The buzz around Oklahoma State basketball is back, and Lutz is ready to return the program to a perennial 20-win team making NCAA Tournament appearances.
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KADE KIMBLE
Kade is a strategic communications student at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, where he also minors in Sports Management. He has been covering the Oklahoma City Thunder with InsidetheThunder.com since the 2022 season after having followed the team since its early days.