2024's Naasir Cunningham talks early recruitment: Duke, UNC, others
On3 has not yet begun ranking the class of 2024 but Naasir Cunningham is an early candidate to be the No. 1 prospect in the sophomore class. The 6-foot-7 small forward out of West Orange (N.J.) Gill St. Bernards oozes potential and colleges are already starting to catch on.
Cunningham holds early offers from UCLA, LSU, Connecticut, Rutgers, Nebraska, Creighton, St. John’s, DePaul, Texas Tech, Maryland, TCU, and New Mexico State. He’s already taken a handful of visits to UConn, UCLA, St. John’s, USC, and Rutgers.
Being considered the No. 1 ranked player in the nation does bring on some added pressure, but Cunningham handles it well.
“It was nervewracking at first, but then I realized, I know what I’m capable of,” Cunningham said. “I just have to go out and play my game. I know people are going to be coming after me all the time, I just gotta keep going, and regardless of where I’m ranked, I’m still going to try to play my best and do the best I can.”
Despite only being a sophomore, Cunningham is taking his recruitment seriously. He says he would like to visit Duke, North Carolina, and Kentucky. The trio of blue bloods has not yet offered, but they are interested. In fact, Cunningham says he hears the most from Duke and North Carolina. Considering colleges can’t contact Cunningham directly yet, he says they contact his father instead. “I know they’ve been in contact with my dad a lot.”
Reclassification is possible
It’s been a reoccurring trend for top-ranked players to forgo their senior year of high school and enter college a year early. However, for now, Cunningham is staying put.
“For right now I’m going to stay (in 2024),” he said. “But it’s definitely something my dad and I have talked about in the past. It’s definitely in consideration.”
Keep in mind, Naasir Cunningham is high school teammates with five-star Mackenzie Mgbako. It’s still early, but it’s not too far-fetched to think that if Cunningham joins the 2023 class alongside Mgbako, they could potentially join forces in college, considering the elite programs they’re both considering.
Cunningham discussed his recent college visits with On3.
Rutgers
Rutgers is the ‘hometown’ school, as it’s only 45 minutes away from Cunningham’s home.
“It was real nice. I like the facilities, the coaching staff, everything. It was a home environment. It was really welcoming. I really liked it.”
UConn
“It was another amazing visit. The coaching staff was really good to me. I watched the practices, they showed me around, I was really interested.”
UCLA
“The weather is great. It’s definitely something you want to be around. The campus was amazing. I didn’t really get much out of it because I was with my teammate, Dominick Barlow.”
Cunningham says he would like to visit UCLA again.
USC
“It was really nice too. They’re both amazing. And the weather combined, it’s like ‘wow’. It’s really shocking.”
St. John’s
‘They had their Midnight Madness and they invited me to that. And then I went into the coach’s office and talked to the coaches. I didn’t really do much going around and stuff.”
Cunningham plans to visit St. John’s again “sometime soon.”
Strengths and improvements
Naasir Cunningham is still young but the sky is the limit for the New Jersey native. He already has good size and long arms. Pair that with elite-level athleticism and feel for the game, and you’ve got an exciting prospect on your hands. He can also score the ball in a variety of ways and plays with a high motor on both ends of the floor.
Cunningham wants to eventually shift to the point guard position. “I want to work on ball handling and transition into a point guard more,” he says. “By the time I get to college, I want to play the two or the one. Right now, I’d say I’m a three.”