STILLWATER — Mike Boynton’s relationship with Villanova coach Jay Wright goes back nearly two decades. Oklahoma State’s basketball coach was once a recruit that Wright pursued while at Hofstra, to the extent that his top assistant, Tom Percora, raced Boynton at a track across the street from Boynton’s Brooklyn home and showed up at Boynton’s high school with a sign that read “Hofstra loves Mike Boynton.”
Wright didn’t land Boynton, but the two met over the weekend in Orlando, Florida, where Wright’s Wildcats defeated OSU, 77-58, in the AdvoCare Invitational semifinals Friday. Villanova, winner of two of the past three national titles, gave Boynton an example to offer to his young team.