Kansas Basketball: Sam Cunliffe transfers to Kansas
Arizona State transfer Sam Cunliffe committed to play for the Kansas basketball program on Saturday.
The Kansas Jayhawks received a bit of good news on Saturday afternoon.
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Arizona State transfer and former four-star recruit, Sam Cunliffe, announced that he would transfer to Kansas. Cunliffe was ranked as the number 36 overall recruit in 2016 by Rivals.
The 6’6″ forward from Seattle averaged 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in the 10 games he played for the Sun Devils. He did most of his damage from beyond the arc, where he shot over 40 percent on almost four attempts per game.
Cunliffe started every game he appeared in for Arizona State and averaged 25 minutes per game. He will be eligible to begin playing in January of 2018 for Kansas and will have two more seasons of eligibility remaining following next season.
Despite Cunliffe’s solid shooting numbers from beyond the arc, Cunliffe struggled inside of it, shooting just over 30 percent. He shot a rather mediocre 42 percent at the rim, and despite his shooting stroke, he shot just 24 percent on midrange jumpers.
Despite his currently one-dimensional offensive game, his shooting ability leaves a lot of optimism for his future (via scout.com):
"If he’s able to get stronger and a little more of a potent slasher, Cunliffe’s offensive repertoire can really become excellent because he has very good court awareness and effectively connects on a lot of difficult passes to cutters and kick outs in his full field of vision. To pair that with an ability to finish more in traffic and through contact near the rim would elevate his prospects even further."
Cunliffe’s commitment comes as a big one for Kansas. Their backcourt situation is very much up in the air after this season. Senior standout Frank Mason III will of course be gone, and with fellow starters Devonte’ Graham and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk could possibly enter the NBA Draft.
Mississippi State transfer Malik Newman will be eligible next season and he will probably take Mason’s spot in the starting lineup. Lagerald Vick has been in and out of the starting five this season and would probably start should either Graham or Mykhailiuk leave.
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There probably won’t be a ton of playing time for Cunliffe immediately next season, but the Jayhawks welcome the depth and security, especially considering their lack of it this season. Still, Cunliffe gives the Jayhawks another shooting wing, similar to the mold of Mykhailiuk, that they can count on beyond next season.