Two Schools Take Lead For Cunningham

Dante Cunningham, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward from Washington D.C.'s St. John's High School, finished the summer strong with the DC Assault in Las Vegas and at the adidas Superstar camp and now the senior is looking at four schools to play his college ball at. Two schools have risen to the top, he said, and a decision is coming in the next couple of months.

Cunningham said he’s down to four schools - Villanova, UNC-Charlotte, Maryland and Pittsburgh. The forward visited Charlotte last weekend and he’ll go to Maryland on Oct. 15 while his visit to Villanova could happen in the next two weeks. After all of the in-home visits, he said a pair of schools has risen to the top.

"I'd say my top two are Villanova and Charlotte right now," he said.

UNC-Charlotte assistant coach Dalonte Hill was an assistant with Cunningham's AAU team, DC Assault. That relationship has worked in the favor of the 49ers and the two had a chance to reunite last week on the visit.

"It was good seeing him again, we've know each other for a long time," Cunningham said. "I liked the whole visit, the campus, the other coaches, the atmosphere. It was really nice. I like the fact that the school isn't in the city but it's still close enough where you can go into it and still have fun."

Cunningham said he doesn't have a concrete date set up for his Villanova visit just yet but he thinks highly of the Big East program.

"I know they have Curtis Sumpter there and they said he may go pro after his junior season or when I get there, he'll be a senior and I'll learn under him," Cunningham said. "I could have the opportunity to go in there and play major minutes.

"I could do the same thing at UNC-Charlotte. My mom said she really felt like part of the family when (both schools) came for the in-home visits. They talked a lot about their families and about the family atmosphere at the schools. I think she felt that, too, and she's big on that."

Maryland recently offered the local product a scholarship offer, which sat well with the forward. Cunningham said he is still considering the Terrapins but his interest has cooled somewhat in the ACC power.

"They were talking to me about coming aboard and that kind of put them into my top three but then they were kind of telling me that it was now or else kind of like deal," Cunningham said. "It wasn't bad but I knew they were looking at someone else and I felt like they put me to the wayside. So when Marcus Williams committed to Arizona, they came back. They have told me that I'm the only guy that they are recruiting, so I'm still looking at them."

Pittsburgh, the last finalist on his list, is a school he's considering but he said he hasn't made any plans to visit the program.

"I’m trying to have something done before the season gets started," Cunningham said, "just so I don’t have any pressures. I want to be focused this year."