MIDDLE VILLAGE, NEW YORK - APRIL 05: Cade Cunningham #1 of Montverde Academy attempts a shot against IMG Academy in the semifinal of the GEICO High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School on April 05, 2019 in Middle Village, New York. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)Today is opening day of the college basketball season, which means it is everyone’s first look at Oklahoma State freshman Cade Cunningham.
The No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class, Cunningham is projected to potentially be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. As for his college career, so far, so good.
In his first-ever half with Oklahoma State, Cunningham scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-6 guard also pulled down four rebounds.
Cunningham showcased multiple aspects of his vast skill set, getting to the rim while also showing off an impressive outside stroke. He’s living up to the hype thus far.
As Cunningham started heating up, Twitter blew up with reactions to his performance.
Cade Cunningham and Emoni Bates are NEXT
— Carmichael Dave 🇺🇸 (@CarmichaelDave) November 25, 2020
Cade Cunningham’s FIRST COLLEGE BUCKET 💯 @CadeCunningham_
12 PTS | 4 REB | 5/11 FG at the half…
I know y’all see it now 👀
(via @OSUMBB)pic.twitter.com/X6g9qqI1jE
— Overtime (@overtime) November 25, 2020
Every couple of years there's a freshman in college basketball who just plays at on a completely different level from everyone else. This year it's gonna be Cade Cunningham
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) November 25, 2020
The word out of Oklahoma State in camp was that Cade Cunningham had really improved as a jump shooter and was knocking down 3s at a higher clip than he did at the prep level.
He’s already hit two and the mechanics look very clean.
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) November 25, 2020
#OKState leads Texas-Arlington 32-27 at halftime.
Cowboys got off to a slow start.
Then Cade Cunningham got going. He has 12 points and four rebounds.
— Jacob Unruh (@jacobunruh) November 25, 2020
First 3-pointer in Cade Cunningham’s collegiate career. Beautiful form on the 6’8” kid pic.twitter.com/Ie5vjWjTFE
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) November 25, 2020
Cade pull-up 3. Dominant performance pic.twitter.com/80v6MYN5D8
— Max Carlin (@maxacarlin) November 25, 2020
If Cunningham keeps this up, it won’t be long before fans of some downtrodden NBA franchise begin dreaming about him as the savior.
In the meantime, it will be fun seeing Cunningham develop in his only college season.
