In the introductory press conference for Mike Boynton on Monday afternoon, he dropped some big news in regards to his staff. Lamont Evans, one of Oklahoma State’s ace recruiters, is staying on staff and will be the Associate Head Coach under Boynton.

“Lamont Evans is somewhere in this room,” Boynton said. “He could just as easily be standing right here. He’s a brother that I never had, a great friend, a tremendous coach, and he will be standing here one day. And I love him — he knows that. He will be staying with us as the Associate Head Coach at Oklahoma State University.

“That’s my co-coach,” he continued. “I have a head coaching title. I don’t want to say it doesn’t mean anything—it does. It was a goal of mine. But that’s not what it’s about. Our players are here to get better, grow, develop and mature … grow into guys who learn to work their tails off everyday, respect people.”

A benefit of hiring Boynton, it was believed, was to keep the staff and roster largely intact. And in retaining Evans, Boynton has secured his first wave of momentum as the head coach.

Before joining Brad Underwood’s staff last season, Evans spent four years on the South Carolina staff under head coach Frank Martin.

Boynton noted that he is not quite ready to announce any other staff members just yet, and does not have a timetable for finalizing that group.