Is No. 1 basketball recruit Cade Cunningham now a realistic possibility for Kentucky?
The NCAA dropped a bombshell on Oklahoma State at the end of last week, announcing that the Cowboys’ men’s basketball program would be ineligible for postseason play next year due to rules violations committed by a former assistant coach.
Setting aside what the severe penalty levied on Oklahoma State means for other high-profile programs caught up in the college basketball corruption scandal, this ruling by the NCAA could have a profound impact on the upcoming season.
That’s because Stillwater was set to be the temporary home of Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2020 class and the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft.
The Cowboys’ postseason ban has put Cunningham’s own future in question. Will he still enroll at Oklahoma State, knowing he won’t have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament in what will surely be his only season of college ball? Will he instead jump straight to the pros, following the lead of other recent five-star recruits who have decided to go overseas or sign on to the G League’s new program instead of playing in college? Or, will Cunningham go to another school?
Under NCAA rules, he would be free to choose another college and play this coming season without penalty. In the immediate aftermath of the NCAA’s ruling on Oklahoma State, attention turned to Kentucky — Cunningham’s clear second choice — as a possible alternative.
Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans spoke with Cunningham shortly before the NCAA’s ruling was made public Friday, and he’s following the No. 1-ranked recruit’s situation closely.
“I still don’t think Cade knows what he wants to do,” Evans told the Herald-Leader on Monday. “Cade was flabbergasted and didn’t know, really, the direction to take.
“Put yourself in his shoes — for the past eight months, you have one thing in your mind, and that’s ‘I’m going to enroll in Oklahoma State.’ And then, literally overnight, it’s erased. That’s hard for any human being — even more so an 18-year-old kid — to really grasp. And that’s why I think it’s going to take some time to play out.”
Evans said he also spoke with Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton and some other staff members, and all were left in a state of shock by the NCAA’s ruling. “No one saw it coming,” he said.
The allegations surrounded former Cowboys assistant Lamont Evans, who the NCAA said violated ethical conduct rules when he accepted between $18,150 and $22,000 in bribes from two financial advisers to influence student-athletes. Evans was one of the assistant coaches arrested as part of the federal government’s investigation into corruption in college basketball three years ago.
Lamont Evans spent just one season as an Oklahoma State assistant, and that was under head coach Brad Underwood, who left at the end of that year for the same job at Illinois. Boynton served for one season as an assistant alongside Evans, but Boynton was not accused of any wrongdoing, and Evans was fired by Oklahoma State following his arrest.
Since none of the current staff members were involved — and Oklahoma State was transparent with the NCAA’s investigation — a penalty of this magnitude was not expected.
Recruiting analyst Corey Evans said he, too, was in “disbelief” after hearing about Oklahoma State’s postseason ban.
Boynton said publicly Friday that he would stand by Cunningham as he sorts through his options for next season and support his ultimate decision “100 percent.” Cunningham’s brother, Cannen, was hired as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last year, and that addition played a major part in Cunningham’s eventual commitment to the Cowboys.
Cade Cunningham’s options
Cunningham — a 6-foot-6 point guard from Texas — originally chose Oklahoma State over a group of finalists that also included Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina and Washington. In the latter stages of his recruitment, some prominent analysts pegged UK as the favorite, and Cunningham later acknowledged that the Wildcats were his second choice and he had come close to committing to Kentucky.
He was also approached by the G League — with an offer that, all put together, could reach into the seven figures — and entertained the idea of playing overseas for possibly even more money. Cunningham could still seemingly follow any of those paths.
“There are going to be a variety of options, and rightfully so,” Evans said. “He’s the No. 1 player in America.”
As of Monday, Evans said Oklahoma State or a professional career seemed to be the most likely options.
“Maybe I’m alone in this, but — unless some things happen — I don’t see him going to college anywhere else but Oklahoma State,” he said. “But who knows what happens with his brother on staff. Does someone try to get in there and hire the brother away from Oklahoma State? And, in doing so, bring Cade with him? We’ll see.”
Evans noted that there are still some high-major assistant coaching openings around the country, though Cunningham has already formed a close bond with Boynton and the rest of the Oklahoma State program, on top of his obviously close relationship with his older brother.
The Cowboys are certainly no lock to keep Cunningham around, however. When asked whether he would take Oklahoma State or “the field” — meaning any other option, pro or college — Evans went with the latter.
“I think the safe guess would be saying the field,” said Evans, who added that playing overseas — like RJ Hampton and LaMelo Ball did this past season — might be the most likely non-Oklahoma State option on the table, trumping the current fad of the G League. “I do think the overseas thing had intrigued him in the past. I don’t think he’s much of a follower.”
Others have pointed out in recent days that Oklahoma State’s postseason hopes — even with Cunningham in the fold — weren’t all that great before the NCAA’s ban. The Cowboys were absent from the prominent preseason Top 25 lists. ESPN’s most recent bracketology pegged Oklahoma State as a No. 7 seed. There was little chance the Cowboys would have emerged as much of an NCAA Tournament threat and no guarantee they’d make the field at all.
Evans added that, if Cunningham followed through on his commitment to Oklahoma State, he’d become even more of a legend to that fan base, before playing a single college game. And he’d still be the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick a year from now.
Fit at Kentucky
Evans also acknowledged that the finalists on Cunningham’s original list would have a leg up on other schools if he does indeed decide to play for a different college. With in-person recruiting visits still off limits due to the coronavirus pandemic, Cunningham will almost certainly have to make a decision without taking any additional trips.
That bodes well for the programs that have already hosted him for official visits. Kentucky would be at the top of that list.
Freshman Devin Askew is penciled in as the most likely starting point guard for UK this season, but he’s also just as capable off the ball and said during his recruitment that he would have no problem playing alongside Cunningham in college. Throw in top-10 national recruits Brandon Boston and Terrence Clarke — a couple of 6-6ish shooting guards — plus graduate transfer combo guard Davion Mintz, and UK would have a highly dynamic and versatile group of playmakers.
“It kind of speaks for itself. Their ceiling for success is raised immensely,” Evans said. “And, as we know, the relationship that Cade and his family developed with Cal and that program and how close he was to committing to Kentucky in the first place — it would align, definitely.”
Cunningham wouldn’t do anything to fill Kentucky’s biggest positional need — another instant-impact frontcourt player — but he would be one more talented player in a group that could take more of a positionless approach.
UK is still waiting to see if 7-foot transfer center Olivier Sarr will be granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA. If Sarr gets his transfer waiver, the Cats should be OK in the frontcourt. If he doesn’t — leaving freshman power forwards Isaiah Jackson and Lance Ware as UK’s only two true post players — there will be a need for more help.
Plugging someone like Cunningham into that situation could push Calipari to tinker with three- and four-guard lineups. It would be “small ball” in a positional sense, but UK could still trot out some lineups with a ton of size, length and athleticism.
“This could really force his hand, for the better,” Evans said. “You have several guys that are 6-6 or taller. You have a guy like Cade who is so versatile — he could play a heck of a small-ball ‘4,’ if you needed it. It would force Cal’s hand. And I think it would be a hand that Cal would definitely be OK taking.”
And then there’s the UK fan’s dream scenario of Cunningham joining up and Sarr getting his transfer waiver. “Definitely a Final Four/national title roster,” Evans said of that possibility. “There’s not much of an offseason for development compared to past years. And you’re throwing practically everyone new into the same bunch. How are they going to coalesce?
“But, on paper, talent-wise … that’s definitely a national title sort of squad.”
There’s no timetable for Cunningham’s final decision on his future for next season. Both Kentucky and Oklahoma State have tentative plans to bring players to campus later this month for the start of workouts. Professional options would probably stay on the table well into the summer and early fall.
One thing is clear: the nation’s No. 1 recruit will have plenty of options.
“Honestly, I don’t think there’s a giant rush on Cade’s behalf, because anyone would save a spot for him until the last second,” Evans said. “So I don’t think he’s going to move quickly, if it is a separate (college) program. If it’s Oklahoma State, he might move somewhat quickly, just to send a signal to the rest of his peers and that program that, ‘I’m here to stay.’ But, again, the whole thing is so fluid. So I think it’s anyone’s guess.”
