Big 12 Basketball: Each team’s biggest question entering 2020-21 season

Oklahoma State Cowboys – Where is the scoring going to come from?

Last season the Oklahoma State Cowboys struggled offensively, averaging just 67.6 points per game and shooting just 42.5% from the field and just 31% from beyond the arc. Gone from that team are six seniors including four of the top six scorers from last season, and a fifth, forward Yor Anei decided to transfer to SMU.

That leaves junior guard Isaac Likekele and his 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.9 steals as the team leader in all of those categories, with no other returning player scoring more than 4.7 points per game last season.

All of this begs the question, where is the offense going to come from for a team that was already offensively challenged? Part of the answer is in the recruiting class where head coach Mike Boynton snagged the nation’s top recruit, point guard Cade Cunningham. The National High School Player of the Year led Montverde Academy to an undefeated season and a No. 1 national ranking.

At 6’8 with point guard abilities, Cunningham not only gives the Cowboys a big scoring threat but also length on the defensive end. Joining him in the backcourt is another top-100 recruit, Oklahoma native Rondel Walker who averaged nearly 26 points and 4.1 steals per game as a senior for Putnam City West last season.

A couple of transfers will also help ease the offensive burden of the team. Guard Ferron Flavors, Jr. comes over for his senior season after netting 13.5 points and shooting nearly 44% from three-point land for California Baptist last season. The team is also waiting to hear about the status of a waiver for 6’7 Bryce Williams, who spent his first two seasons at Mississippi.