NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Cade Cunningham’s top 10 teams
Virginia Cavaliers
Winning the national championship is going to elevate the Cavaliers recruiting at a level never seen in program history. And now that head coach Tony Bennett’s system has shown that players can not only win the national title but also become viable NBA prospects, it’s not surprising that five-star athletes are taking a closer look. At the same time, it also could be a red herring, with players listing the “hot” school name among their final list of teams without them actually being in the running. Time will tell who’s actually serious about playing for UVA.
Virginia does already have a quality ball handler in rising sophomore Kihei Clark, who played a big role in the team’s title run. He could very well be the star for the Cavaliers this upcoming season. And if he stays after that, Cunningham wouldn’t be the lead ball handler. His size and versatility would fit the system well and they could use another ball handler, so don’t count them out.
Odds – Not great but being the reigning champion has its benefits
Washington Huskies
A top-10 2019 recruiting class has the Huskies looking for more five-star talent, this time on the perimeter. They have former Kentucky point guard Quade Green coming in but could use another ball handler like Cunningham. He would fit perfectly in Mike Hopkins’ 2-3 defensive zone with his 6’6 frame. And since he has the ability to play multiple positions, it wouldn’t matter where he was on the court in this scheme.
But besides the question of his compatibility with Green in the backcourt, Washington could very well look different after next season, assuming five-star big men Jaden McDaniels and Isaiah Stewart go pro after one year. How good will they be and who is coming in the 2020 class? Add that to the simple fact that this is the only west coast option on the list, they’d have to make a pretty compelling case to get him all the way out there.
Odds – Very low compared to the others
Next. Top 10 players in 2019 NBA Finals. dark
Without any insider knowledge and just looking at the rosters and news, it seems like Oklahoma State, Duke, Kansas and UNC have the best odds out of the 10. Memphis, Kentucky Virginia and Florida could go either way, while Washington and Texas seems to not have much of a shot. But it’s still very early in Cunningham’s recruiting process and anything can happen – with both him individually and the programs involved.