Evan Daniels Goes In-Depth on Cade Cunningham's Recruitment

College basketball is almost here, but just as important, college basketball’s Early Signing Period begins in a few weeks as well. It opens on November 13^th, marking the first day BJ Boston, Terrence Clarke, Lance Ware and Cam’Ron Fletcher can put pen to paper, and officially become members of the 2020-2021 Kentucky Wildcats.

However, even as John Calipari locks up another elite recruiting class, there is still (at least) one big fish that they’d like to add for next season. That player is of course Cade Cunningham, the No. 2 prospect in America. Cunningham has long been rumored to be headed to Oklahoma State (where his older brother coaches), but recent buzz has some saying that Cunningham will end up in Lexington.

That buzz went into overdrive a few weeks ago, when 247 Sports recruiting guru Evan Daniels put in a “crystal ball” pick for Cunningham to head to Kentucky. Daniels has been correct in 52 out of 52 crystal ball predictions in the 2020 recruiting cycle alone, so that prediction carried quite a bit of weight in the recruiting world.

So what has Daniels convinced that Cunningham will end up Lexington? He joined KSR’s “Aaron Torres Sports Podcast” to discuss Cunningham, his crystal ball pick, the timeline for Cunningham’s decision and much, much more.

Here is part of what Daniels said on the subject:

“Obviously because his brother is an assistant coach at Oklahoma State, my crystal ball pick [for Kentucky] made some waves. I think people were a little surprised by it. I still stand by my information. I think Kentucky heading down the stretch is the leader for Cade Cunningham.

Does that mean he 100 percent ends up there? No. There’s obviously a draw to Oklahoma State. Cade hasn’t told other schools no. But it’s certainly an intriguing recruitment. I think Kentucky is the leader, which is why I put in a crystal ball for Kentucky and Cade Cunningham.”

From there, Torres and Daniels turned their attention to how the relationship between Cunningham and Kentucky has evolved in recent months.

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It’s something that our own Jack Pilgrim has written about, but is worth repeating here. John Calipari has made Cunningham a priority.

And Cunningham has reciprocated his interest with Kentucky as well.

“I think it’s clear that Kentucky has targeted him,” Daniels said. “He’s spent a lot of time with him, he’s been down to see him down at Montverde a number of times, including the first day when college coaches could see recruits.

And I think that’s where things started changing back then when Calipari went down and met with him. It’s certainly been an interesting recruitment… Like I said, I don’t think we’re not too far away from seeing him make his choice.”

Daniels and Torres went on to discuss more about Cunningham, the type of player he is and how he could fit on a college campus.

So, what is the next step for Cunningham? As Daniels noted, Cunningham is expected to make a college decision soon. His official visits are done, and the plan has always been for him to sign in the early signing period, which begins on November 13^th, so expect a choice in the not too distant future.

Now, will it be Kentucky? We will find out soon.

To listen to Torres and Daniels discuss more on Cade Cunningham, and other recruiting topics, such as whether Kentucky will end up with the No. 1 class in the country, please download the Aaron Torres Sports Podcast here.

And for more Kentucky recruiting talk, download the “Sources Say” Podcast with Jack Pilgrim.