‘We’d like to play with a pace offensively and be aggressive defensively, and I think that we’re building a roster that can do that.’
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STILLWATER — Steve Lutz’s first Oklahoma State roster is coming together, but it’s still missing a few big pieces.
Lutz has had to rebuild the Cowboy roster almost from the ground up. OSU fired Mike Boynton after seven seasons. Only three scholarship players from Boynton’s final roster have stayed on to begin the Lutz era, meaning Lutz had 10 scholarships to fill.
Seven transfers have joined the Cowboys since Lutz’s appointment, meaning he has just three scholarships left open. But of the 10 guys now on the roster, only Xavier transfer Abou Ousmane is a true big man at 6-foot-10, 244 pounds. At 6-7, 240, Texas Tech transfer Robert Jennings II could also play a frontcourt role, but Lutz said in a small media gathering Wednesday at one of his camps that the Pokes still need to add some size.
“I definitely wanna get two more bigs — whether they’re forwards or centers or a combination of both,” Lutz said. “You can’t go into the Big 12 with a lack of size and physicality because you’ve gotta be able to rebound the basketball in this league. So, for sure two of those. Then what I do with the third scholarship, again, kind of dependent upon your NIL budget, you kind of go after it and see who you can get from there. I don’t know what I’ll do with that 13th and do I even use it, right?
“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve added some good walk-ons this summer. I think that provides depth in practice and hopefully a couple of those guys can transition into a game.”
Lutz said the Cowboys have been in talks with “several” players about OSU’s open spots. He wasn’t able to talk about who those guys were, but four-star forward Sammie Yeanay has been on a visit in recent weeks. Georgetown transfer Supreme Cook is rumored to be another guy the Cowboys are interested in. Cook, listed at 6-9, 229 pounds this past season, spent three years at Fairfield before spending last season with the Hoyas. He has averaged 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds a game throughout his career.
“It’s still a work in progress,” Lutz said. ” I feel comfortable with where we are in the guards and the wings. We’ve certainly gotta add some more size, and I hope to do that here in the next couple days or the next couple weeks. You just don’t know with the availability of who’s out there right now, and who you can get. It’s progressing nicely.”
As for the guys Lutz has assembled to this point, they recently got on campus. Lutz said they’ve had seven workouts thus far but all have been split. He said the first full-team workout is scheduled for Thursday.
The group has a lot of high motors. Jennings is the type to get on the offensive glass and do some dirty work. FIU transfer point guard Arturo Dean led the nation in steals last season — something that doesn’t happen by accident. Arkansas transfer Davonte Davis is another do-it-all type, as he averaged 10.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals a game in his best year with the Razorbacks. The returning Jamyron Keller also fits into that mold. The list goes on.
All of those guys collectively should fit into Lutz’s up-tempo style. Lutz’s Western Kentucky team last season ranked first nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo. That starts on the defensive end, where the Hilltoppers held teams to 17.1-second possessions on average, per KenPom. That was the 76th quickest in the country. Then the Hilltoppers’ offensive possessions averaged 14.6 seconds, the fourth fastest in the nation.
So, as long as Lutz sticks the landing with his last few pieces, the group he has assembled should fit nicely into his playstyle.
“We’d like to play with a pace offensively and be aggressive defensively, and I think that we’re building a roster that can do that,” Lutz said. “Obviously the size and how well they can move and how fast they can run, that’ll dictate it a little bit more, but I think that we’ve recruited to our system for sure.”
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