mike boynton jr

The ball! Also, the wait. 247's Travis Branham has lodged a crystal ball for Vlad Goldin to Michigan. Meanwhile the final FAU piece dropped, as Alijah Martin entered the portal with a no-contact tag. No balls for him or Johnell Davis yet.

What's the holdup on the other two guys? Well, On3 reports that Davis "plans to go all in with his preparation for the NBA Draft with the majority of his focus, at this point, on that process." If he's able to catch the eyes of NBA guys this time around he might not return to college. Expect an Olivier Nkamhoua timeline here, with a bunch of will-he-or-won't-he. Given the fact that Davis went through the draft process a year ago it seems likely that he's going to hear the same things that led him back to college last year, because he'll make more money in college than the G-League. (RIGHT, EXTREMELY RICH BASKETBALL DONORS?)

Goldin's timeline may be accelerated relative to his teammates because he's a drop-coverage-only center and the NBA generally doesn't like those anymore.

The final pieces, coaching edition. First: the NCAA loosened its rules a couple years back in re: coaches. Now you can have five assistants that coach the team; only three are allowed to recruit off-campus. Generally the #4 and #5 spots have been grad assistant types.

This item may explain some conflicting reports about who May's third assistant is going to be. (Mike Boynton and Akeem Miskdeen are 1 and 2.) Folks started dropping Tennessee assistant Rod Clark's name yesterday, to the point where even the Tennessee side of things was saying there was a lot of buzz. Clark is another guy with a sterling reputation as a recruiter. He's the guy credited with bringing SEC player of the year Dalton Knecht over from Northern Colorado:

“It started with (Rod Clark). He was the first one to hit me up out of the portal. Me and Rod, he knew my JUCO. He had family members and friends that played there so he knew quite a bit about Northeastern, so it was kind of that and just creating a bond right away."

He did cop a two-game suspension for an unknown "compliance issue," but the last guy who did that at Michigan won a national title shortly afterwards sooooooooo…

[After THE JUMP: percentages updated]

This is what happens when a couple of UV bullets turn into their own post, Larry.

One assistant secured. Matt Norlander:

Coaching scuttle: Former Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton Jr. is soon expected to join Dusty May's staff at Michigan as an assistant, sources tell @CBSSports. Boynton has other options at the high-major level, but May has put a high priority on Boynton in Year 1 in Ann Arbor.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 3, 2024

Boynton was as South Carolina with Brad Underwood when Underwood was named the head coach at Stephen F Austin, spent four years there, followed Underwood to Oklahoma State, and then got the head job when Underwood bounced after one year.

His tenure at Oklahoma State was meh on the surface, with one bid in seven years and two other NIT appearances. Glancing at analytics is more encouraging since Boynton largely fielded solid teams in an increasingly brutal Big 12. His teams went #59, 83, 53, 33, 34, and 46 in Kenpom before bottoming out this year. He did plant a Kenpom flag: after Underwood's single year at OSU saw the Pokes finish 155th in defensive efficiency, Boynton had a two-year build, then a four-year run of top-50 defenses, the latter three all top 20. He could be this staff's Yaklich.

[After THE JUMP: Cade Cunnningham mentioned, portal update]