St. John’s hires ex-Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, Mike Boynton to stay at Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State men’s basketball coach Mike Boynton will remain on the sidelines for the Cowboys.

Zach Braziller of The New York Post reported earlier this week that St. John’s had contacted Boynton’s agent, but St. John’s decided to hire ex-Arkansas coach Mike Anderson for the vacant head coaching job Friday. There was no confirmed interest from Boynton to leave OSU.

Boynton is 33-35 and 13-23 in Big 12 conference play in two seasons at OSU and has built a top 20 recruiting class in Stillwater.

The St. John’s sales pitch to Boynton was most likely for him to return to New York City, where he attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn. St. John’s is located in Queens and plays some home games at Madison Square Garden.

Anderson takes over at St. John’s after Chris Mullin, a Hall of Fame player and alumnus, stepped down April 9 after four seasons at the helm. The Red Storm went 59-73 and 20-52 in Big East play with one NCAA tournament appearance this past March with Mullin.