Oklahoma State University Athletics
2020-21 Cowboy Basketball Roster
Roster
Cunningham, Cade
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Jersey Number 2
Cade Cunningham
- Height:
- 6-8
- Weight:
- 220
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Arlington, Texas
- High School:
- Montverde Academy
Bio
2020-21 (Freshman Season)
• Game-by-Game Stats
• The first player in program history to be named to the Associated Press All-America First Team.
• Just the second OSU player to ever be named a Consensus First Team All-American, and the first since Bob Kurland (1944-46).
• Wayman Tisdale Award winner as the top freshman in college basketball.
• Also named a First Team All-American by the USBWA, the NABC, The Athletic, USA Today and others.
• Finalist for the Naismith Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award.
• Cousy Award Final Five alongside Jared Butler (Baylor), Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova).
• Just the fourth player in league history to earn Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season. He joins fellow Cowboy Marcus Smart, K-State's Michael Beasley and Texas' Kevin Durant.
• Earned the NABC National Freshman of the Year award.
• Also won National Freshman of the Year honors from USA Today, The Sporting News and College Insider, which named him the winner of the 2021 Kyle Macy Award.
• Led the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 20.2 points per game, which was second nationally among freshmen and 20th overall.
• Only two other players in all of college basketball over the last 20 seasons can match his stellar all-around stat line of 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 3.5+ assists, 1.25+ steals, .75+ blocks – Marquette’s Dwyane Wade (2002-03) and Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10).
• Scored 544 total points, which are the most ever by an Oklahoma State freshman. His 20.2 points per game average is the ninth highest in school history.
• According to Synergy Sports Technology, Cunningham averaged 1.333 points per possession around the rim, good for the 82nd percentile in the NCAA.
• His 132 free throws made ranked 13th nationally and his 156 attempts were the 19th most nationally. Cunningham averaged a team-high 4.8 fouls drawn per game (6.4 per 40).
• Shot 84.6 percent (132-of-156) from the free throw stripe, which ranked third in the Big 12 and 20th in Cowboy history.
• Dominated with a 40-point performance on a 12-for-21 clip at Oklahoma. It was the 10th-best scoring performance in college basketball in 2020-21, the most points scored by a Big 12 player this season and the most by an OSU player since Jawun Evans against Oklahoma on Jan. 13, 2016. He also grabbed 11 boards for the first 40-10 game against an AP top-10 team since 2006.
• That 40-point performance against the rival Sooners earned Cunningham the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honor on March 2, 2021.
• Showed a flare for taking over games in the second half. In the second half of all games, Cunningham averaged 12.7 points on 49.3 percent shooting, including a 44.0 percent clip from 3-point.
• Recorded four 20-point second halves, including 21 points at Kansas, 20 points at Baylor, 20 points in the win against Baylor in the Big 12 semifinals and 25 points in the Big 12 title game against Texas.
• NCAA.com's Andy Katz named him the national Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-American.
• Unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team, the All-Freshman team and the All-Newcomer Team.
• Winner of a school-record nine Big 12 weekly awards, which were the most by any player in 2020-21.
• Averaged 1.6 steals per game, which is tied for the third most ever by an OSU freshman.
• Led the Big 12 in minutes per game (35.4, most ever by an OSU freshman), but also finished sixth in steals (1.6), ninth in rebounding (6.2), eighth in field goal percentage (43.8), 13th in assists (3.5) and 14th in blocks (0.8).
• Posted a plus/minus of +68 on the season (+3.1 per 40 minutes).
• Recorded 14 games with at least 20 points, which is tied for the 14th most in school history despite the shortened COVID-19 season.
• Reached double-figures in scoring in 26 of his 27 games.
• Led OSU to nine wins over ranked squads, the program’s first Big 12 Championship title game appearance since 2005 and its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2009.
• Under Cunningham’s leadership, OSU finished the season ranked No. 11 in Associated Press poll, which is its best finish since 2005.
• Dazzled in his debut with 21 points and 10 rebounds, which made him the first freshman in school history to open his career with a double-double. Cunningham's performance was just the second 20-10 outing by a Big 12 player in his debut game, joining K-State's Michael Beasley in 2007-08. Cunningham's 21 points were the most by a Cowboy in his debut since James Anderson had 29 points against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 9, 2007.
• The lone freshman named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America team. He is the first Cowboy named to the team since Marcus Smart in 2013.
• CBS Sports Preseason Freshman of the Year and All-America First Team selection, and he was listed at No. 2 on their ranking of the top 101 players in college basketball for 2020-21.
• The ESPN panel of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi unanimously named Cunningham their 2020-21 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
• Hoops legend Dick Vitale named Cunningham his "Preseason All-Diaper Dandy," which is his version of the freshman of the year award.
• Athlon Sports named him a First-Team All-American and USA Today listed Cunningham as a Preseason Second Team All-American.
• Stadium named Cunningham their National Preseason Freshman of the Year and a Preseason First Team All-American.
• Named the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year as well as a Preseason All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches.
• Selected by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook as the National Newcomer of the Year, as well as a second team Preseason All-American.
• No. 3 on Andy Katz's list of the preseason top-10 Player of the Year candidates, and Katz also named him among the 15 guards who could win the 2021 Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.
• Named the nation's top impact newcomer by ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
• Montverde High School [FL]
• Winner of the 2020 Naismith High School Player of the Year Trophy. He is the first Oklahoma State signee to ever win the award.
• Also earned national player of the year honors from MaxPreps and Mr. Basketball USA.
• Named the nation's top recruit by ESPN, 247Sports, Rivals, USA Today, MaxPreps and Ball Is Life.
• 2020 McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American. He becomes just the eighth Cowboy to be named a McDonald’s All-American, and the first since Jawun Evans in 2015.
• One of just 12 players to ever earn a grade of 0.9999 or better in the history of 247Sports (since 2003), which makes him the highest rated point guard and the highest rated OSU signee of the recruiting-rankings era.
• He is the eighth five-star recruit to sign with Oklahoma State, and the first since two-time All-American Marcus Smart in 2012.
• Finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, and the winner of Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Cunningham becomes the 16th Cowboy to win his state’s Gatorade POY award prior to attending OSU.
• Named to the USA Nike Hoop Summit, which is the most prestigious international youth all-star game in the sport. The event features the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Select Team against a World Select team in Portland, Oregon.
• Led Montverde Academy to a unanimous No. 1 ranking and a 25–0 record with an average margin of victory of 39 points. He helped Montverde beat seven ranked opponents — No. 5 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 10 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), No. 12 Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), No. 19 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (three times) and No. 20 Duncanville (Texas).
• Despite playing just 22 minutes per game, Cunningham averaged 13.9 points, 6.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game for Montverde. He also posted a plus/minus of +30.8 per game.
• The Eagles won numerous event titles including the City of Palms Classic, John Wall Holiday Invitational, Montverde Academy Invitational, St. James Invitational, the Spalding Hoophall Classic, Metro Classic and National Hoopfest.
• Was the national MVP of the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit after averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 59.2 percent shooting.
• The Most Outstanding Performer at the 2019 Pangos All-American Camp, Cunningham joined a list of former MOPs that includes James Harden, John Wall, Harrison Barnes, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Doug McDermott, DeAndre Ayton, and Trae Young.
• Cunningham’s junior season at Montverde included MaxPreps Junior All-American second team honors after averaging 11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He even put up 26 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in the 2019 GEICO High School Nationals semifinal against Oak Hill Academy.
• As a sophomore at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas (2017-18) Cunningham averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Those accolades earned him the 2018 District 4-6A co-MVP honors and a Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region nod.
• As a freshman, Cunningham averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and three assists per game, helping Bowie reach the District 6A Region I final while being named District 4-6A Newcomer of the Year.
• Played AAU ball for the Texas Titans alongside future Cowboy teammates Rondel Walker and Montreal Pena.
• Cunningham chose the Cowboys over Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Florida, Washington and more. He anchors a Cowboy signing class that is ranked No. 4 by Rivals.
• USA Basketball
• Joined forces with future Cowboy teammate Isaac Likekele to help lead USA Basketball to the gold medal at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in Heraklion, Greece with a perfect 7-0 record.
• Cunningham started all seven games and averaged 11.7 points, 5.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for USA Basketball. He also shot 40.7 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the foul line.
• In the finals, Cunningham led all scorers with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the 93-79 win over Mali.
• Posted 21 points and 7 rebounds against Lithuania, and recorded a double-double against Latvia with 11 points and 10 assists.
• Also participated in the 2018 USA Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp.
• Personal
• Son of Keith and Carrie, he has one brother, Cannen and one sister, Kaylyn.
• Cade’s brother was a standout forward at SMU and is an assistant coach for the Cowboys.
• Father, Keith, played football at Texas Tech.
• Born on Sept. 25, 2001.
• Game-by-Game Stats
• The first player in program history to be named to the Associated Press All-America First Team.
• Just the second OSU player to ever be named a Consensus First Team All-American, and the first since Bob Kurland (1944-46).
• Wayman Tisdale Award winner as the top freshman in college basketball.
• Also named a First Team All-American by the USBWA, the NABC, The Athletic, USA Today and others.
• Finalist for the Naismith Trophy and the John R. Wooden Award.
• Cousy Award Final Five alongside Jared Butler (Baylor), Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga), Ayo Dosunmu (Illinois) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova).
• Just the fourth player in league history to earn Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year honors in the same season. He joins fellow Cowboy Marcus Smart, K-State's Michael Beasley and Texas' Kevin Durant.
• Earned the NABC National Freshman of the Year award.
• Also won National Freshman of the Year honors from USA Today, The Sporting News and College Insider, which named him the winner of the 2021 Kyle Macy Award.
• Led the Big 12 Conference in scoring with 20.2 points per game, which was second nationally among freshmen and 20th overall.
• Only two other players in all of college basketball over the last 20 seasons can match his stellar all-around stat line of 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 3.5+ assists, 1.25+ steals, .75+ blocks – Marquette’s Dwyane Wade (2002-03) and Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2009-10).
• Scored 544 total points, which are the most ever by an Oklahoma State freshman. His 20.2 points per game average is the ninth highest in school history.
• According to Synergy Sports Technology, Cunningham averaged 1.333 points per possession around the rim, good for the 82nd percentile in the NCAA.
• His 132 free throws made ranked 13th nationally and his 156 attempts were the 19th most nationally. Cunningham averaged a team-high 4.8 fouls drawn per game (6.4 per 40).
• Shot 84.6 percent (132-of-156) from the free throw stripe, which ranked third in the Big 12 and 20th in Cowboy history.
• Dominated with a 40-point performance on a 12-for-21 clip at Oklahoma. It was the 10th-best scoring performance in college basketball in 2020-21, the most points scored by a Big 12 player this season and the most by an OSU player since Jawun Evans against Oklahoma on Jan. 13, 2016. He also grabbed 11 boards for the first 40-10 game against an AP top-10 team since 2006.
• That 40-point performance against the rival Sooners earned Cunningham the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week honor on March 2, 2021.
• Showed a flare for taking over games in the second half. In the second half of all games, Cunningham averaged 12.7 points on 49.3 percent shooting, including a 44.0 percent clip from 3-point.
• Recorded four 20-point second halves, including 21 points at Kansas, 20 points at Baylor, 20 points in the win against Baylor in the Big 12 semifinals and 25 points in the Big 12 title game against Texas.
• NCAA.com's Andy Katz named him the national Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-American.
• Unanimous selection to the All-Big 12 First Team, the All-Freshman team and the All-Newcomer Team.
• Winner of a school-record nine Big 12 weekly awards, which were the most by any player in 2020-21.
• Averaged 1.6 steals per game, which is tied for the third most ever by an OSU freshman.
• Led the Big 12 in minutes per game (35.4, most ever by an OSU freshman), but also finished sixth in steals (1.6), ninth in rebounding (6.2), eighth in field goal percentage (43.8), 13th in assists (3.5) and 14th in blocks (0.8).
• Posted a plus/minus of +68 on the season (+3.1 per 40 minutes).
• Recorded 14 games with at least 20 points, which is tied for the 14th most in school history despite the shortened COVID-19 season.
• Reached double-figures in scoring in 26 of his 27 games.
• Led OSU to nine wins over ranked squads, the program’s first Big 12 Championship title game appearance since 2005 and its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2009.
• Under Cunningham’s leadership, OSU finished the season ranked No. 11 in Associated Press poll, which is its best finish since 2005.
• Dazzled in his debut with 21 points and 10 rebounds, which made him the first freshman in school history to open his career with a double-double. Cunningham's performance was just the second 20-10 outing by a Big 12 player in his debut game, joining K-State's Michael Beasley in 2007-08. Cunningham's 21 points were the most by a Cowboy in his debut since James Anderson had 29 points against Prairie View A&M on Nov. 9, 2007.
• The lone freshman named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America team. He is the first Cowboy named to the team since Marcus Smart in 2013.
• CBS Sports Preseason Freshman of the Year and All-America First Team selection, and he was listed at No. 2 on their ranking of the top 101 players in college basketball for 2020-21.
• The ESPN panel of Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi unanimously named Cunningham their 2020-21 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.
• Hoops legend Dick Vitale named Cunningham his "Preseason All-Diaper Dandy," which is his version of the freshman of the year award.
• Athlon Sports named him a First-Team All-American and USA Today listed Cunningham as a Preseason Second Team All-American.
• Stadium named Cunningham their National Preseason Freshman of the Year and a Preseason First Team All-American.
• Named the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year as well as a Preseason All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches.
• Selected by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook as the National Newcomer of the Year, as well as a second team Preseason All-American.
• No. 3 on Andy Katz's list of the preseason top-10 Player of the Year candidates, and Katz also named him among the 15 guards who could win the 2021 Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard.
• Named the nation's top impact newcomer by ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
• Montverde High School [FL]
• Winner of the 2020 Naismith High School Player of the Year Trophy. He is the first Oklahoma State signee to ever win the award.
• Also earned national player of the year honors from MaxPreps and Mr. Basketball USA.
• Named the nation's top recruit by ESPN, 247Sports, Rivals, USA Today, MaxPreps and Ball Is Life.
• 2020 McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand All-American. He becomes just the eighth Cowboy to be named a McDonald’s All-American, and the first since Jawun Evans in 2015.
• One of just 12 players to ever earn a grade of 0.9999 or better in the history of 247Sports (since 2003), which makes him the highest rated point guard and the highest rated OSU signee of the recruiting-rankings era.
• He is the eighth five-star recruit to sign with Oklahoma State, and the first since two-time All-American Marcus Smart in 2012.
• Finalist for the Gatorade National Player of the Year award, and the winner of Florida’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Cunningham becomes the 16th Cowboy to win his state’s Gatorade POY award prior to attending OSU.
• Named to the USA Nike Hoop Summit, which is the most prestigious international youth all-star game in the sport. The event features the USA Basketball Men’s Junior Select Team against a World Select team in Portland, Oregon.
• Led Montverde Academy to a unanimous No. 1 ranking and a 25–0 record with an average margin of victory of 39 points. He helped Montverde beat seven ranked opponents — No. 5 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 10 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), No. 12 Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.), No. 19 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) (three times) and No. 20 Duncanville (Texas).
• Despite playing just 22 minutes per game, Cunningham averaged 13.9 points, 6.4 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game for Montverde. He also posted a plus/minus of +30.8 per game.
• The Eagles won numerous event titles including the City of Palms Classic, John Wall Holiday Invitational, Montverde Academy Invitational, St. James Invitational, the Spalding Hoophall Classic, Metro Classic and National Hoopfest.
• Was the national MVP of the 2019 Nike EYBL circuit after averaging 23.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 59.2 percent shooting.
• The Most Outstanding Performer at the 2019 Pangos All-American Camp, Cunningham joined a list of former MOPs that includes James Harden, John Wall, Harrison Barnes, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Doug McDermott, DeAndre Ayton, and Trae Young.
• Cunningham’s junior season at Montverde included MaxPreps Junior All-American second team honors after averaging 11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. He even put up 26 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds in the 2019 GEICO High School Nationals semifinal against Oak Hill Academy.
• As a sophomore at Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas (2017-18) Cunningham averaged 18.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Those accolades earned him the 2018 District 4-6A co-MVP honors and a Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Region nod.
• As a freshman, Cunningham averaged 15.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and three assists per game, helping Bowie reach the District 6A Region I final while being named District 4-6A Newcomer of the Year.
• Played AAU ball for the Texas Titans alongside future Cowboy teammates Rondel Walker and Montreal Pena.
• Cunningham chose the Cowboys over Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Florida, Washington and more. He anchors a Cowboy signing class that is ranked No. 4 by Rivals.
• USA Basketball
• Joined forces with future Cowboy teammate Isaac Likekele to help lead USA Basketball to the gold medal at the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup in Heraklion, Greece with a perfect 7-0 record.
• Cunningham started all seven games and averaged 11.7 points, 5.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game for USA Basketball. He also shot 40.7 percent from the field and 75.0 percent from the foul line.
• In the finals, Cunningham led all scorers with 21 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the 93-79 win over Mali.
• Posted 21 points and 7 rebounds against Lithuania, and recorded a double-double against Latvia with 11 points and 10 assists.
• Also participated in the 2018 USA Men’s Junior National Team October minicamp.
• Personal
• Son of Keith and Carrie, he has one brother, Cannen and one sister, Kaylyn.
• Cade’s brother was a standout forward at SMU and is an assistant coach for the Cowboys.
• Father, Keith, played football at Texas Tech.
• Born on Sept. 25, 2001.
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