To the surprise of no one, Oklahoma State freshman star Cade Cunningham announced Thursday that he will enter the NBA draft.
The 6-foot-8 point guard is the projected No. 1 pick in the Draft slated for July 29. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons own the three worst records in the NBA and all have a 14 percent chance at the No. 1 pick.
“It's hard to make that decision in the moment, so I just wanted to wait until my head was level," Cunningham said of waiting until Thursday to announce instead of right after the Cowboys lost to Oregon State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. “But I was just blessed to have that opportunity to be able to enter the draft. I felt like I had did a lot of the work early to be in that position.”
Cunningham, who has a 2-year-old daughter named Riley, fell short of leading Oklahoma State on a Carmelo Anthony-type run to an NCAA championship. Only one No. 1 pick in the last decade also won an NCAA title: Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012.
Still, Cunningham won the Wayman Tisdale Award as the top freshman in college basketball, and remains a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award and Naismith Award as the nation’s top college player. He led the Big 12 in scoring with 20.2 points per game. In league play, he ranked in the top 10 in scoring (20.1), seventh in rebounding (6.5), eighth in field goal percentage (.443), 10th in assists (3.3) and seventh in free throw percentage (.843).
“He's unique in that I don't think you can have a roster that he couldn't fit in because he's able to play with any type of other player,” Cowboys coach Mike Boynton said. "I think he fits regardless of what your roster looks like because his versatility allows you to play another point guard with him, play him at the point, he can post up, which we've shown this year, he can be a shooter. That totality of skills is what makes him, I think, a super-high value for any NBA franchise out there.”
Cunningham has drawn comparisons to Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. If he goes No. 1, he would be the third No. 1 pick coached by Montverde (FL) Academy and former St. Patrick (N.J.) coach Kevin Boyle, who also coached Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. Boyle has coached six top-3 picks since 2011.
“Throughout the season, I was just adding things on in my head,” Cunningham said. “We don't have as much time to just get in the gym and work. I definitely want to get my fluidity and my movement better, whether that's yoga and things like that. Just getting my range of motion and things a lot better. I still want to focus on tightening my handle, shooting the ball better, just getting more consistent at a lot of the things that I do now.”
(The AP and ESPN contributed reporting)
