Oklahoma State Basketball: 2020-21 season preview for the Cowboys

A look at the remainder of Oklahoma State’s rotation

Freshman G Rondel Walker

Even if he is starting, Walker is expected to play a big role with this team and will be featured if Boynton wants to go for a four-guard lineup. The 6-4 decorated recruit was a high-end four-star and rated the 95th ranked player in the country.  Walker was a complete player, playing at an extremely high rate on both ends of the floor.

In High School, he was named the Jim Thorpe High School Player of the Year award, along all of the sports in the state of Oklahoma. The young man from Midwest City put up gaudy numbers, averaging 25.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per contest. His excellence doesn’t end there as he averaged over four steals a game.

Coming into the season, one of the few critiques for Walker was to put on some weight to have strength at the college level. Since coming to Stillwater, Walker has put on 10 pounds to come to a respectable 170. Adding a little more won’t hurt, but it’s truly exciting to see a Freshman and know their biggest weakness is strength.

Walker has a chance to battle Likekele and Flavors for starting playing time and that kind of battle at guard is what makes Oklahoma State so interesting to watch.

Freshman F Montreal Pena

Pena brings a rare ability to jumping, to go along with his height that makes him an immediate impact to Oklahoma State. He picked the Cowboys over notable P5 programs, Baylor, Wake Forest, and TCU, among others.

Mentioned beforehand, Pena is elite at jumping, as he recorded a 42.5-inch vertical jump,  which would be the best at the NBA Combine at Pena’s size. The Arlington, Texas native attended Woodstock Academy in Connecticut and Martin High School in Texas. The odd circumstance with Pena is that he did not play basketball his senior year.

Prior to that, he lead Woodstock Academy to a 21-win season as they made their postseason.

Pena is the perfect example of an extremely raw talent, that will get his chance at legit competition very quickly. How he performs under pressure will be interesting. With his intangibles, expect some good minutes from Pena.

Sophomore G Chris Harris Jr.

Harris is one of the rare players that has experience with this Oklahoma State squad. However, he did not finish last season as he sustained a season-ending knee injury against TCU later in the season.

However, Harris did get a few starts prior to his injury and was serviceable when he was asked to come in. Harris was not an efficient three-point shot last year as he barely scratched 20%, during his short season. The Dallas native is looking to improve on those numbers and will have a good chance to do that, with more consistent minutes.

With the minutes in front of him, I do not expect Harris to get many starts, excluding injuries. With that being said, the expectation is for Harris to improve on his numbers and be a key bench piece.

Sophomore G/F Keylan Boone

Brother of fellow Cowboy player Kalib, Keylan was a bright spot from beyond the arc, shooting 34.3%. That was good enough for second on the team last year, behind sharpshooter Thomas Dizagwa. With the uncertainty at the forward position, Boone is expected to get quite of few starts, working into the lineup with his brother and Moncrieffe.

That number might be skewed as he only eclipsed five points just seven times last year. Boone is an above-average rebounder and when he’s been asked to, can shoot the 3 ball well.

With more playing time and a good chance of starting some games, Boone is expected to have a bigger impact and his numbers will replicate that.

With the lack of experience along this Oklahoma State team, Boynton was able to land two key transfers, that could help with the youth growing up in some senses. Ole Miss transfer Bryce Williams and JUCO Bernard Kouma will be joining the Cowboys after both received immediate eligibility.

The pair are not expected to have humongous roles on this team from a production standpoint. However, the pair bring plenty of collegiate experience with Williams being a senior and Kouma spending his Freshman year at South Plains College.