The Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball roster has seen some turnover this offseason. This isn’t foreign in college basketball, though. Every program in the sport is dealing with it. This is the current era of college athletics, and college basketball roster building has changed because of it.

With the Cowboys parting ways with Mike Boynton, the program’s head coach for the past seven seasons, Oklahoma State and Steve Lutz had to fill out their roster. With Boynton departing, many of his incredible recruits followed suit. Not four-star signee Jeremiah Johnson, though. He stayed committed to Oklahoma State.

Johnson, as mentioned, is a four-star recruit. He was a big commit to Boynton’s 2024 class, and it’s good for the program that he’s still headed to Stillwater. In the recent 247Sports recruit rankings update, Johnson’s overall ranking received a bump.

Previously ranked as the No. 141 prospect in the nation, Johnson saw a two-spot increase, now being ranked No. 139 in the nation. He’s the No. 13 point guard in the class and the No. 8 prospect in Arizona. Still, Johnson’s commitment to Oklahoma State is incredible, helping Lutz have a head start in recruitment and roster building ahead of this fall.

Johnson is an Oklahoma native, and the Cowboys secured his commitment last fall, beating out Oklahoma, TCU and SMU. He’s since moved around during his high school basketball career, spending time in both Utah and Phoenix.

The four-star guard averaged 18.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game this past season in high school. The talented 6-foot-3 guard reaffirmed his commitment to Lutz and the Pokes after Boynton was fired.

“When I came to Oklahoma State, of course I came for who was coaching, but I also came for the community and just wanting to play in an Oklahoma State jersey, just wanting to always do that,” Johnson told the Pistols Firing Blog last month.

Johnson cited that the program retaining Keiton Page was huge, and helped in his decision to remain committed.

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Oklahoma voters now have another choice for president in November.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 70, completed his statement of candidacy and paid Oklahoma’s $35,000 fee to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate, Oklahoma State Election Board officials confirmed Thursday.

The campaign said in a statement Oklahoma marks the fifth state where Kennedy and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, will officially appear on the ballot. Other states where Kennedy has qualified are Utah, Michigan, California and Delaware.

Kennedy is expected to face Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump on Election Day.

“Today, RFK Jr. was placed on the ballot in my home state of Oklahoma,” said Tami Mitchell, a campaign volunteer, in a statement released by the campaign.

More: Among Republicans, Trump’s support is weakest in and around Oklahoma City

“For me, it sparked a fire,” Mitchell said. “This gives so many of us hope that the next president will be a voice for the people of our great country.”

Kennedy initially campaigned as a Democrat before switching to independent. The Michigan Advance reports he’s known for his work as an environmental lawyer and his anti-vaccine stances. He is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Kennedy’s campaign said it has collected enough signatures to appear in eight additional states, including New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa and Ohio. 

It plans to work to get Kennedy’s name on the ballot in every state.

More: Donald Trump is outraising GOP rivals in Oklahoma. Here are the numbers

The Dallas Mavericks evened the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night, and now the matchup shifts to the Lone Star State. The Mavericks will face off against the Thunder Saturday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. Day games can be a little weird, so hopefully the Mavericks come out focused and ready to play.

The Mavericks looked like they were finding their rhythm again Thursday, with Luka Doncic resembling the player who scorched the league all season. Add in the fact that P.J. Washington had the game of his life, and well, it’s no wonder they beat the Thunder on the road. If they play the same way at home in Dallas, there’s a good chance they’ll take a 2-1 series lead.

Here are a couple thoughts to ponder before the game starts:

Will the hot shooting continue?

The odd thing about the Mavericks’ hot finish to the season is that they stopped shooting well from deep. They only shot 36 percent as a team from behind the arc after the All-Star break. Instead, they wore teams down with defense and killed them in the paint and from the midrange.

Thursday night, that changed. They shot the lights out against the Thunder, hitting almost 49 percent of their 37 3-point attempts. It put pressure on Oklahoma City early, and the Thunder never recovered. They couldn’t keep up with the Mavericks’ shooting. Dallas doesn’t necessarily have to shoot that well from three again, but even hitting that close will put the Thunder on their heels.

Did Kyrie Irving have a bad game, or have the Thunder figured out how to contain him?

Irving was held to just nine points in Game 2, which is just completely out of character for him. Even when he struggles, Irving manages to manufacture points and get into the low twenties. But Irving was oddly passive, only taking eight shots total, and only two 3-point attempts. Did the Thunder figure out some way to turn him into just a distributor? Irving had 11 assists, which is great, but the Mavericks need his scoring as well. Maybe this was just a case of Irving playing within the flow of the game, and the shots just weren’t there. But if Game 3 passes with Irving taking less than 10 shots, the Mavericks might be in trouble.

How to watch

Game 3 tips off at 2:30 p.m. CDT on ABC.