Cunningham's McDonald's All-American Status is Huge for Cowboy Basketball
STILLWATER -- There has been plenty of talent come through the hallowed halls of Gallagher-Iba Arena over the years. Plenty of guys that made a lasting impact on the program, university and fan base. Plenty that went on to play in the NBA or other professional leagues, and plenty that made their mark at Oklahoma State and then hung up the sneakers following their four to five years in Stillwater.
But since the inception of the McDonald's All-American game, 1977, there have only been eight McDonald's All-Americans, and that includes the most recent addition in 2020 signee Cade Cunningham.
Glendon Alexander (1996), Byron Eaton (2005), Gerald Green (2005), James Anderson (2007), Le'Bryan Nash (2011), Marcus Smart (2012) and Jawun Evans (2015).
Those are the seven other McDonald's All-Americans that Oklahoma State has had. I know that Gerald Green never made it to campus, but he was a signee when he was selected, so he counts.
With the news of Cunningham's All-America status, there have been plenty of projections from outlets prediction him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Unless something absolutely unforeseen or bonkers happens, Cunningham will be a one-and-done player, and that's okay because he's the type of guy that should open doors for Mike Boynton and Co. in the future.
“It’s great,” head coach Mike Boynton said of Cade Cunningham being named a McDonald’s All-American. “In some ways, I don’t want people to think I’m disregarding this year’s team because I’m not; our focus on still trying to maximize what we can be this year, but we’re not going to ignore that it’s a big deal for us to get a kid of his caliber who decided that this is a place he believes he can achieve the type of goals that he wants to do. He’s going to be able to help not only the guys that are coming back next year be better, but it’s going to allow us to continue to mine those fields where those high-level players are and show then that ‘You know what? There aren’t just a couple of schools you can go to and have success. Oklahoma State is one of those places where you can have the biggest of goals and still be able to go there and feel like the process will be exactly the same as if you went anywhere else.”
Boynton and Co. have always gone after some of the biggest fish in the pond out on the recruiting trail. They've been close on some pretty big ones as it came down to the final day/selection for quite a few four and five start players.
Being able to land Cunningham, whether his brother was on the staff or not, proves that Oklahoma State can be a place where elite basketball players can come. Now, there's some pretty good talent coming back next season, as well as coming in the recruiting class. Next season will prove whether or not elite basketball players can come to Oklahoma State and have success. My early prediction will be a resounding yes.
