Cade Cunningham committed to Oklahoma State on Tuesday but was there really any other options? In this week’s Three-Point Play, Rivals.com analyst Corey Evans discusses that, examines the final three for Jaylin Williams and reports on Josh Christopher’s upcoming official visit.
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1. How Cade picked the Pokes
When the Cade Cunningham news broke on Tuesday evening, just minutes before the Champion’s Classic began (don’t think the timing of it wasn’t planned) some were surprised, others awe-struck and the rest didn’t bat an eye. Regardless, his commitment to Oklahoma State was and is a big one for the Big 12 bunch.
Despite the hiring of his brother, Cannen Cunningham, there was a chance that Cunningham would say no to Mike Boynton (I know that it may be difficult to believe). Even in his commitment video, whenever he said, “I’ll be honest, I was this close to picking another school,” that is not a lie. Kentucky was that inch between his index finger and thumb that he held up to provide for even greater imagery.
Sure, Florida, North Carolina and Washington were involved, but what I have been told is his visit to UK went so well, he was ‘this close’ to ending his college recruitment. However, he decided to go on with his plans which included visiting Washington and speaking over things in full with his family.
It took a lot for Oklahoma State to beat Kentucky and it wasn’t just the hiring of his brother. I remember sitting in a back gym in Las Vegas two summers ago, just me, Boynton and an assistant coach from Michigan. Boynton was one of the first to believe in Cunningham and don’t think that didn’t play a part a part into the process, coinciding with having a team built entirely around him, Trae Young-style, and his brother being on staff.
Think what you want but this was a legitimate deliberation between blue blood and Oklahoma State. Cunningham stressed over the decision. But you know how it goes. Just as he said… blood is thicker than water.
2. Williams down to three
Jaylin Williams sits as one of the top-five centers available this fall and the four-star prospect has narrowed his school list to a group of three, he told Rivals.com.
Auburn remains in the hunt and was the first to host him last weekend. On the visit, he was joined by his fellow travel teammate, Chris Moore, and Bruce Pearl would love nothing more than to keep the pair together during their college days.
However, my FutureCast selection remains on Arkansas, the in-state program that will host Williams this weekend for an official visit. The Hawgs already hold the commitment from another travel teammate of his, Davonte Davis, and could at least one or two others soon with KK Robinson and Moses Moody.
His visit tour will complete at Texas A&M on the weekend of Nov. 15. The Aggies have a major need in the frontcourt and prioritized Williams upon their hiring back in the spring.
While he has squeezed all of his visits up into a timeframe that falls before the early signing period concludes, Williams remains set on signing in the spring. Although, he would like to commit during the early portion of his high school season. Arkansas is the most talked of landing spots for him and remains my pick.
3. Josh Christopher sets visit
We can ponder which undecided five-star prospect is going to sign next month, but for Josh Christopher, there is about a zero-percent chance that he will do so in the coming days. Down to a final four for schools, Christopher has yet to take an official visit to any of his finalists, though he did visit Howard earlier last month, but that is about to change.
On Nov. 22, Christopher will take an official visit to Michigan. The Wolverines have done a tremendous job of prioritizing Christopher dating back to Juwan Howard's hiring. While the atmosphere might not be great for its game against Houston Baptist that falls during his visit, the trip will be more about getting a better feel for the school as a whole and all that Howard and his staff can allot.
Outside of Michigan, the others in pursuit include Arizona State, Missouri and UCLA. Visits dates are currently being worked on for each for later this winter. Of course, there are ties to all three as ASU is the place where Christopher’s brother is a freshman guard; Missouri employs his cousin as its strength coach; lastly, UCLA is the local program and he is relatively close with a number of its players.
A decision will be made in the spring and I wouldn’t be surprised if Christopher ends up being the last elite prospect to end his respective recruitment.
