OSU Basketball: Cowboys Can Learn from Recent Big 12 Hires
Although OSU’s coaching search might be a mess, going an unconventional path could be the program’s best move.
Oklahoma State is in the middle of its first coaching search since 2017, and it can take some lessons from a couple of conference rivals.
After the Cowboys ended this season with a 12-20 record, they decided to fire Mike Boynton after seven seasons. In Boynton’s tenure, the Cowboys reached only one NCAA Tournament and struggled to compete in a tough Big 12 conference.
Despite three straight seasons with a losing conference record, OSU could have reason for optimism with the right hire. Much of that optimism can come from within the Big 12, where a couple of recent hires have quickly turned into major success stories.
One of those lessons comes from what will soon be OSU’s closest conference rival. After a rough 2022 season, Bruce Weber resigned as Kansas State’s head coach.
The Wildcats began a coaching search and went with an unconventional hire. Rather than hiring a head coach from a smaller school who had seen recent success or giving a long-time power conference coach another chance, the Wildcats hired someone with no head coaching experience.
Although he spent his last five seasons of 19 at Baylor as an associate head coach, Jerome Tang entered Manhattan having never been the top guy in charge. It took no time for Tang to adjust.
In his first season at the helm, Tang took the Wildcats on an Elite Eight run as a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Although Tang couldn’t get his team back to the tournament this season, his overwhelming success in year one has Kansas State in a great position to compete,
Meanwhile, T.J. Otzelberger’s three seasons at Iowa State have made its 2021 hire look perfect. After a 2-20 season, including a 0-18 conference record, the Cyclones went looking for a new head coach and landed on Otzelberger.
Like Kansas State, Iowa State’s coaching search ended with a somewhat unusual hire. After three seasons at South Dakota State, including two NCAA Tournament appearances, Otzelberger coached two seasons at UNLV.
However, his teams never achieved the same success at UNLV. In his final season there, Otzelberger’s team went 12-15. Despite a losing record across two seasons in the Mountain West, Iowa State took a chance that quickly paid off.
In year one, Otzelberger helped the Cyclones win 20 more games and make the NCAA Tournament. After another tournament run in 2023, the Cyclones are national championship contenders this season.
In only three seasons, Otzelberger has helped Iowa State go from the worst team in the Big 12 to one of the best teams in the country.
Although OSU’s new hire might never see the success of Tang or Otzelberger, they can change the program entirely. With the prevalence of the transfer portal and NIL, building a team is simultaneously easier and more complicated than ever.
Still, going after only mid-major coaches who saw success this season could be shortsighted for OSU.
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