Five-star Naasir Cunningham updates his recruitment
Class of 2024 five-star Naasir Cunningham recently made a major transition in his basketball journey. The 6-foot-7 small forward from West Orange, N.J. made the move from Gill St. Bernard’s School, down to Atlanta to be apart of the Overtime Elite Academy (OTE). Before this year, OTE was considered a professional league, handing out – at minimum – $100,000 salaries, but it cost the players their college eligibility. Now, players can join OTE with a new secondary option of a scholarship, and maintain their eligibility. On top of that, the scholarship options allows them to profit off of their name, image, and likeness.
Naas Cunningham was the first to make that move. I caught up with him at his new home to get an update on how the recruiting process has been going.
Cunningham talks recruiting process
“I’m really just still enjoying it,” Cunningham said of the process. “I have a lot of time before I make a decision, so really I’m just valuing the time and being appreciative of every coach that reaches out to me and my parents.”
What’s his favorite part of the process?
“Probably the visits, being able to like check out campuses and stuff and see what it would be like,” he says.
Cunningham recaps his Missouri unofficial
Cunningham, a junior, has already taken a handful of unofficial visits. Rutgers, St. John’s, UConn, UCLA, Duke, and Missouri have already hosted him on campus. Just a few weeks ago, he tripped to Mizzou and he broke down that visit.
“It was good,” Cunningham said. “Great coaching staff, great facilities. The players were cool and they just overall had a good vision for everybody that was there or that they were recruiting to go there.”
What initially stood out about Missouri for Cunningham to make the trip?
“We heard a lot of great things about the coach,” he said. “Coach (Dennis) Gates. A lot of great things about him. So we wanted to go check him out.”
First official visit in the works
Cunningham says he plans to take his first official visit to Florida State, however, a date has not been set yet.
“They have a great coach,” Cunningham said of the ‘Noles. “If you look at like their history, they’ve produced a lot of great wings. That’s the position I’m playing right now.”
Which schools are staying in the most contact?
“Duke stays in contact. Indiana has been in contact a lot recently. Texas, Arkansas, Kansas. Really those are like the main schools, but there are a lot of schools reaching out,” Cunningham says.
He discussed a handful of the schools staying in touch.
Texas: “Really they are just keeping in contact and building a relationship. That’s another place I want to go and visit.”
Arkansas: “Same thing, really. Multiple coaches reaching out all the time. They are telling me about what they’ve got going on, what they’ve done, and what they’re looking forward to.”
Duke: “Really just like trying to build a relationship. Just staying in contact, making sure I’m familiar with the coaches and stuff like that. All of the coaches there have been reaching out to me.”
Future visits?
Cunningham has yet to schedule any official visits, but in addition to Florida State, he said he’d like to go back to Duke and UCLA, as well as visit Kansas, Texas, and more.
He made it clear that he’s wide open in the process and wants to take as many visits, whether that’s unofficial or official, as possible.
Scouting Summary
Naas Cunningham is a long, rangy, and athletic wing prospect. You first notice the frame, he looks like a basketball player. Offensively, Cunningham is an adept shot-making, extending out to three, off the catch. He will need to continue putting on weight and getting stronger. He is an explosive athlete, which he shows in transition. His length, positional size, and quick-twitch athleticism give the belief he can become a good team defender in time. Would like to see him attack the basket more, not settle for jump shots, but his ability to create space and knock down shots has him trending at the top of the 2024 class. – On3’s Jamie Shaw, National Recruiting Analyst