Bryce Thompson "Made the Right Decision" Committing to Oklahoma State
STILLWATER – There’s been a few headlines out of Stillwater and Gallagher-Iba Arena through the first few months of the offseason, probably none bigger than landing former five-star and Kansas transfer Bryce Thompson.
The program made a few players and the three new assistant coaches, Terrence Rencher, David Cason and Larry Blunt, available to the media on Tuesday. This is the first availability with Thompson, but you can tell he already feels at home in Stillwater.
“It’s good, I love the team and I love the staff,” said Thompson. “I love everything about Oklahoma State, so it’s just been great. It’s been a very smooth transition and I just appreciate the team and coaches for that.”
Mike Boynton recruited Thompson very heavily out of Booker T. Washington and had the Pokes in the final list of schools before Thompson committed to KU. He had an injury-riddled freshman season, but averaged 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.1 minutes per game in 20 games.
Ironically enough, one of the main injuries Thompson suffered this past season was on the historic white maple court in GIA. He was diving for a loose ball with Avery Anderson III and Isaac Likekele when he broke his hand which required season-ending surgery.
But he told us he’s back to 100% and feel really good, both his back and his hand.
There’s no question about it being a smooth transition for Thompson. As I mentioned above, Boynton and Co. recruited him very heavily out of high school, with Thompson making multiple trips over to Stillwater throughout his recruiting process. So, it seemed like a logical, and comfortable decision to make.
Related: Bryce Williams is returning for one more season in Stillwater
“Definitely,” Thompson said of being familiar with the program. “I became very familiar with [Boynton], the staff, the university, I’ve been up here tons of times for games and everything. So, it was pretty good, and I wouldn’t say an easy decision, but I’ll say I made the right decision.”
From the outside looking in, it would appear one of the toughest challenges Thompson’s faced since arriving on campus, one that the entire program has had to adjust to, is a new-look coaching staff. However, he let us know the transition’s been rather smooth.
“It’s been good,” Thompson said of the new-look coaching staff. “These first few weeks I’ve been able to get closer to them. I’ve actually known coach [David] Cason for a very long time, so that relationship has already been there, but as far as [Terrence Rencher and Larry Blunt], I’ve been trying to get closer to them and see what they’re about. They’re good guys, they work hard and that’s the recipe for something good.”