South Carolina Basketball: Former Gamecock gets new coaching job

South Carolina basketball alum Mike Boynton was fired from his head coaching job with the Oklahoma State Cowboys about three weeks ago after a 2023-2024 season that went off the rails in Stillwater.

Boynton spent seven years as the leader of the Cowboys program and led his program to three 20-win seasons. The NCAA-levied sanctions stemming from violations during the Brad Underwood era proved too much for Boynton to overcome, and he couldn't sustain success, leading to his dismissal.

This week, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported that Boynton was being hired as a new assistant coach with the Michigan Wolverines, joining Dusty May's staff in Ann Arbor. Boynton had other assistant offers but elected to join the Wolverines.

Boynton is known around the coaching industry as a high-character coach who recruits well (he landed top-overall prospect Cade Cunningham while at OSU in the 2020 recruiting class), so Michigan should reap the benefits of the hire in short order. He will be viewed as one of the top assistants in the Big 10.

Before he became the head coach in Stillwater, Boynton was an assistant there under Brad Underwood, and both coaches served under Frank Martin with the South Carolina basketball program. Boynton was a holdover for Martin from Darrin Horn's coaching staff in Columbia.

During his time as an assistant with the Gamecocks, Boynton was very popular among the fanbase thanks to his recruiting efforts and his status as a Carolina alum.

In his playing days, Boynton didn't play a big role for the garnet and black during his first three years on campus, but he was a major contributor as a senior. He averaged 10 points per game in his final season and had his best games in the SEC Tournament as he made the All-Tournament squad en route to earning the Gamecocks a berth in the NCAA Tournament.