Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham demands your attention in March Madness

Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham is set to take center stage in March Madness before leaving for the NBA where he’s projected to be the top pick in the draft.

It’s always a good thing for college basketball when the nation’s best freshman gets to participate in the NCAA Tournament. That wasn’t always a guarantee for Cade Cunningham, who committed to Oklahoma State only to see the Cowboys get hit with a one-year postseason ban.

The Cowboys appealed the ban, which still hasn’t been resolved, clearing the way for Oklahoma State to reach the NCAA Tournament. A lot of the credit for that goes to Cunningham, the Big 12’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, who has transformed Oklahoma State into a legitimate national title contender.

Looking at the stats only gives you a partial look at the brilliance of Cunningham, who averaged 19.7 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game during the regular season. Things really heated up for Cunningham in the Big 12 Tournament, where he helped power the Cowboys past West Virginia and Baylor before Oklahoma State fell to Texas in the final.

Cunningham is one of the most gifted freshmen to grace college basketball in years and is capable of making his impact felt in all aspects of the game.

How good is Cade Cunningham?

The thing that jumps out right away when watching Cunningham is how gifted he is on the offensive end. Cunningham can not only knock down outside jumpers with regularity, hitting 42.5 percent of his three-point attempts entering the Big 12 Tournament, but he can also beat his man off the dribble to attack the rack.

Besides his scoring, Cunningham is also an outstanding passer, using his tremendous court vision to set teammates up for success. Even though Cunningham is capable of taking over a game at any moment he is a true team player who wants to make the correct basketball play instead of forcing a bad shot that he can make.

Cunningham is also willing to do the dirty work on the defensive end, eagerly attacking the defensive glass to snag rebounds and taking on the challenge of guarding the other team’s top players. A 6-foot-8 point guard with a wingspan that exceeds seven feet, Cunningham is the kind of matchup nightmare that will make pro teams salivate in the draft this summer.

For those looking for a pro comparison for Cunningham, ESPN’s Dick Vitale notes that Cunningham’s head coach at Oklahoma State, Mike Boynton, has said that Cunningham is like a hybrid between Grant Hill and Penny Hardaway. That is a special type of player since Hill ended up in the Hall of Fame while Hardaway had the talent to get there before injuries short-circuited his career.

Having Cunningham around has made Oklahoma State a much better team that is capable of making some serious noise in the NCAA Tournament. The Cowboys are even more dangerous if Cunningham opts to take over a game, as he did on Feb. 27 against Oklahoma.

Cunningham was the difference in that game, scoring 40 points and snagging 11 rebounds to help the Cowboys knock off their in-state rivals. The Sooners simply couldn’t find a way to contain Cunningham, who was able to get his points on all three levels to will his team to a much-needed victory.

There have been plenty of teams in the history of the NCAA Tournament that have seen a star player take over in March to lead their squad to a national championship. Memorable examples over the past two decades include Carmelo Anthony’s heroics for Syracuse in 2003 and Kemba Walker’s dominant run for UConn in 2011.

Cunningham is the type of player that is capable of putting the Cowboys on his back and elevating his teammates into championship territory. The fact that Cunningham is such a freakish athlete makes him a tremendous matchup problem for the rest of the country, which has few players equipped to try and defend Cunningham.

Oklahoma State has drawn a four seed in the NCAA Tournament, facing off with 13-seed Liberty in the first round in the Midwest Region. Winning that game could set Cunningham up for a defensive challenge against Tennesee, who will likely attack him with Yves Pons, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2020.

The real fun could come in the Sweet 16 where Illinois could be waiting for Oklahoma State. That would set up a matchup between Cunningham and Ayo Dosunmu, the best guard in the country, with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

In a field where teams like Gonzaga and Baylor are heavy favorites to cut down the nets, it can take a special performance from a special player to knock them off. Cunningham has the ability and mindset to lead Oklahoma State to a national championship, making the Cowboys one of the most dangerous teams in the field and making their games appointment television over the next few weeks.

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