Steve Lutz made his second portal pickup on Thursday night when Robert Jennings II pledged to the Pokes.
A Texas Tech transfer, Jennings has two seasons of eligibility remaining after spending two seasons with the Red Raiders. In his sophomore year, Jennings averaged 4.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 12.3 minutes a game.
Jennings spoke with PFB over the phone on Friday to discuss his commitment.
PFB: Why Oklahoma State?
Jennings: "Oklahoma State, I just felt like it was a great fit from Day 1. I talked to Coach Lutz, and I loved him as a person. He’s a great person. And then, you know, just watching the film, I felt like it was the best situation for me. And also coming to a program that has a great caliber of players that have come through. Just being in Stillwater is going to be eventful. Oklahoma State has a ring about itself.
“Me and Coach Lutz have a great connection, and I felt like it was the best spot. And also Coach (Robert) Guster recruited me out of high school, so I had that relationship since I was like a junior in high school. So, once Coach Guster called and I got on the phone with him, then I talked to Coach Lutz, it was like an instant connection. It felt like it was the right situation for me to go to.”
PFB: So was Coach Guster recruiting you at Texas State? What is your relationship like with him?
Jennings: “Texas State, yeah. When he was at Texas State he would call and always talk about how bad he wanted to coach me. I ended up going to Tech, and it’s just crazy how things come full circle and now he’s at Oklahoma State. The situation is good for him, the situation is good for me and now we all get the opportunity.”
PFB: When was your visit because it sort of flew under the radar?
Jennings: “My visit was Wednesday and Thursday. I just got back yesterday.”
PFB: What were your takeaways from the visit?
Jennings: "I love the community. Early on, you hear about Stillwater, you come for games, but you don’t really get to interact with the people. Just going around campus, just seeing how everybody interacts, everybody’s nice. The energy on campus is amazing. Everybody that I ran into, they were making me feel like I was at home – from the coaching staff to the trainers to the people that were trying to help us figure out where to park – like everybody was super nice and made me feel like I was at home.
“It’s four hours away from the house. It’s a smaller city than Dallas, but it still gives me the home feeling. That’s what really stuck out to me at the visit. Because at the end of the day, being away from home, you want to be somewhere where you can feel like you’re at home and you’re loved. I feel like I really got that from Stillwater.”
PFB: What did you think about Lutz and what was his pitch to you?
Jennings: "We’re gonna win. That’s the biggest pitch he could give me. We’re gonna come here, we’re gonna work, we’re gonna get better and we’re gonna win. At the end of the day, that’s the ultimate goal of playing hoop. That’s why I started because the process is fun, winning is fun, the highs and lows of the game are fun and make you into the person you are.
“Coach Lutz is down to earth, but he’s also going to coach you hard. But he’s also somebody you can talk to and really sit down and have a real conversation outside of basketball. When you step outside of them lines, he’ll really help you as a man. Even the coaching staff he put together, sitting down and talking to them, you can tell how really bought in they are to not just the basketball side but to their players as a whole. That stands out to me with Coach Lutz. That’s what stuck out the most. That was the recruiting pitch that really brought me over because everybody wants to win. He has a plan. It’s easy to say it, but when you actually have a plan to get it done, that goes a long ways, too.”
PFB: Do you have an idea of what your role will be?
Jennings: "We kind of went into detail. I know I’m going to be playing a little bit of both the four [power forward] and the five [center]. But also, it depends on the way that the roster fans out. I feel like we’ll get more into that as the transfer portal comes to a close, and then we can sit down and actually put people into where the team will be successful.
“I’ve always been a player that I’m going to do whatever the team needs to win. Whatever the team needs, that’s what I want to do. So, I don’t think it’s really necessarily something that we just sat down and it was like, ‘This is exactly what we’re gonna do.’ We’re gonna go out there, we’re gonna get better every day in practice, and we’re gonna go out there and win basketball games.”
PFB: You’re just the sixth guy on the team, but do you know anyone else? If not what were those conversations like on your visit?
"I know Jamyron from playing high school and things. I played him when he was at Killeen-Ellison, just seeing him around the city and things like that. We’ve always had a relationship to where we could talk – maybe not like best friends, but it’s always been a basketball relationship where we could be cordial and things like that. But getting on a visit and actually getting to sit down and talk to him and talking to everybody that was there – even the people that were on visits; I was on a visit with Moussa (Cisse) – great people. Love them. When it gets between the lines, we’re serious, it’s time to handle business, but off the floor, you can tell that it’s a brotherhood. People love each other. When the team loves each other, you can get your players bought into loving each other and really bonding together, then you really have a great chance to be good.
“On the visit, we went out to eat, did the usual, and it was like a big family atmosphere. Everybody was communicating with everybody. Players were talking to my parents, like it was a big family atmosphere. That’s what stuck out. Bryce Thompson is great.”
PFB: Good eats?
Jennings: “We went to Texas Roadhouse, and we went to Granny’s, and we went to Eskimo Joe’s. Great eats. The loaded cheese fries at Eskimo Joe’s, chef’s kiss.”
PFB: Last thing, what do fans need to know about Robert Jennings?
Jennings: “Whatever it takes to win. We’re gonna win ballgames. We’re gonna go out there, we’re gonna play hard. I’m gonna play hard. I will do whatever it takes. I’m willing to give everything I have every time I step on the floor, whether that’s a loose ball or whether that’s helping motivate my teammates or getting a teammate open. Whatever it takes to win, I’m willing to do that. That’s Robert. That’s me.”