Cowboy Basketball's Been Working on 'Family Bonds' Before Getting Back to Campus

Cade Cunningham and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, as well as current members of the Cowboy basketball team, have been working out together in Dallas over the past month or so.

STILLWATER – We all found out over the past few weeks that Cade Cunningham and Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe have been working out together in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In Cade’s commitment video, before he even made the announcement, Cowboy fans saw Moncrieffe and if they didn’t know Cade was coming back after he talked about loyalty, they for sure knew when they saw Moncrieffe.

It’s also incredibly fitting, and exciting, that these two guys are a part of the same signing class. Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 high school player in America – Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, the No. 1 high school player in Canada. That has a nice ring to it.

What’s great about those two working out together is that it hasn’t just been those two.

“It was just ultimately, just coming down to building relationships; ultimately with Cade [Cunningham], not just with him, but with the rest six guys that we’ve got down here,” Moncrieffe said. “Guys like Chris [Harris], Avery [Anderson], Ice [Likekele], learning from guys like Cam [McGriff], a graduating senior. So, it was really just building a relationship and starting to build that family bond and really just getting better with the people I’m gonna be battling with for the next couple of months.”

Cunningham and Likekele were both on the U19 USA basketball team that won the U19 FIBA World Cup this past summer. So, those two already have a relationship and some rapport, which will be fun to watch grow over the next season.

“We haven’t been able to come to school on time when we were supposed to, so getting to start early with MA [Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe] and working out with Isaac [Likekele] and everybody, I think that’s been super big for us just getting a togetherness," Cunningham said.

“I’m definitely excited,” Moncrieffe said. “Just from playing with [Cunningham] and open gyms and stuff like that. It’s definitely going to be something special.”

While nothing’s been officially announced, Boynton and Co. are planning on bringing the players back to campus sometime over the next two weeks. The NCAA announced a July 15 date for teams to start on-campus voluntary workouts, so the coaching staff is trying to get the guys on campus two weeks before the start due to coronavirus precautions, same as Cowboy football did at the start of June.