No. 1 recruit Cade Cunningham makes his final decision. He won’t be playing for Kentucky.
Cade Cunningham won’t be playing for the Kentucky Wildcats this coming season.
The nation’s No. 1-ranked basketball recruit has reaffirmed his commitment to Oklahoma State, quieting speculation that he might be looking elsewhere after the Cowboys’ program was unexpectedly hit with an NCAA Tournament ban earlier this month.
Kentucky was Cunningham’s second choice when he made his original commitment to Oklahoma State last fall, and the Wildcats were seen as possible favorites if the 6-foot-6 point guard from Texas had decided to look at other college options. Cunningham, who is ranked No. 1 overall in the 2020 class by Rivals.com and 247Sports, could have also explored professional options straight out of high school, including the G League or overseas leagues.
ESPN projects Cunningham as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Instead of going straight to the pros, he’ll play what is likely to be his only season of college basketball at Oklahoma State, which employs his older brother, Cannen Cunningham, as an assistant coach. The Cowboys hired the elder Cunningham last summer, and his presence in the Oklahoma State program was seen as a major factor in his younger brother’s commitment.
The NCAA recently handed the Cowboys a postseason ban for 2021 as part of a number of penalties stemming from violations committed by former Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans, who was arrested in 2017 as a result of the federal government’s investigation into corruption in college basketball. The NCAA Tournament ban was unexpected since current head coach Mike Boynton was not accused of any wrongdoing, nor were any other current assistant coaches or players.
Oklahoma State was no lock for the NCAA Tournament anyway. The Cowboys have been absent from early Top 25 lists for this coming season, and ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi projected them as a No. 7 seed in his most recent update.
Kentucky will still have the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class even without the dream addition of Cunningham, who visited UK for Big Blue Madness last October and has acknowledged he was very close to committing to the program. The Cats have six highly touted signees for the 2020-21 season — including top-10 prospects Brandon Boston and Terrence Clarke — as well as three incoming transfers. Creighton graduate transfer combo guard Davion Mintz will be eligible to play immediately for the Cats, while former Rhode Island forward Jacob Toppin will sit out this season as a traditional transfer.
UK is still awaiting word on the status of former Wake Forest center Olivier Sarr, who has applied for a transfer waiver to play immediately for the Wildcats.
