STILLWATER — As momentum waned during the media’s question-and-answer session at the end of Steve Lutz’s introductory press conference as the new Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Thursday at Gallagher-Iba Arena, another hand popped up.
It was that of John-Michael Wright, who is neither a member of the media, nor a current member of the OSU basketball team, having completed his eligibility last month.
Yet Wright is always a contemplative mind, and he had a question for the new coach of his old teammates.
“This ought to be real good,” Lutz said as Wright waited for the microphone to be delivered. “I told him he could come back and work out. He said he’d show up every day except for defensive days.”
Wright’s question, however, was a serious and thoughtful one regarding the players from last year’s team who have eligibility left, and their potential to remain with the team. Four such players — Bryce Thompson, Jamryon Keller, Connor Dow and Justin McBride — were in the front row at Lutz’s press conference
“For those guys who are open to returning,” Wright said, “if they do decide to stay and you guys get into the workouts and you see they don’t kind of fit your play style or their game doesn’t fit the type of coaching style you want to play, will you be honest with them and tell them, ‘Hey, I don’t think this is the place you need to be?’ Or will you just let it slide through and then the season come and they just sit the bench.”
Lutz’s immediate response was to call it “the best question we’ve had all day,” and he was right.
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And with his answer, he shed some light on conversations he’s already begun having with players.
“Justin, I’m gonna put you on the spot a little bit,” Lutz said, pointing to McBride, a 6-foot-8 wing who played limited minutes as a freshman this past season. “Justin and I talked, actually this morning. Am I honest? Yeah, I’m almost honest to a fault, guys, if there’s ever a fault for being too honest.
“To answer your question, yes, as I said a minute ago, this is not always a fit for everybody. I have a certain vision for the way we want to play, and as a player, you have a vision for the way you want to play. If those visions don’t align, then it’s never gonna work out. … However the previous coaching staff played them, that’s different, maybe, from the way I’m gonna play them. We value different things.”
Lutz added that he’s “not a used-car salesman,” and that he treats his players with a direct approach regardless of the situation.
“Someone could be a reserve on another team and come to our team and they could be a star,” he said. “But, the flip of that could happen as well. We’ll have very open and honest conversations. I value history, and what I mean by that is shooting numbers and percentages and assist-to-turnover ratios and rebounding numbers. Because the best predictor of the future, obviously, is the past.
“But with that said, we also talked about the development piece earlier, and that’s what my staff and I are tasked with doing, is helping guys get better.”
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: How new OSU coach Steve Lutz answered a question from a past player
