Boynton's longterm plan starting to come together
STILL WATER—Three years ago, Mike Boynton envisioned the 2020 class being special for Oklahoma State.
He had just taken over the program. He had already offered Cade Cunningham a scholarship before others.
Boynton just had to make it happen three years later.
On Cunningham Wednesday, it became a reality. Cunningham — the nation's top guard in the class— and Putnam Walker West's Rondel
Walker both signed National Letters of Intent.
“This is a class that we identified pretty early on that was going to be pretty significant for us,” Boynton said Friday in his first comments to the media since signing day.
“Kind of got an idea, establishing who you are, what your needs are, what you want to do in terms of style of play. This class has been one that we wanted to have a major impact, but also try to sign an elite- level player and obviously we feel like we accomplished that.”
Cunningham, an Arlington, Texas, native who plays at Montverde ( Fla.) Academy, is already projected to be the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by ESPN.com. The five-star recruit is the Cowboys' highest-rated signing since Gerald Green, who never stepped onto campus after he elected to enter the NBA Draft in 2005.
Walker is a four-star guard who helped bring the class together. Once he committed, Cunningham said in a video posted to OSU's Twitter page he was headed to Stillwater as well.
“Obviously, he's a pretty good recruiter,” Boynton said. “Having kids who have bought in so well that they want to recruit other good players now — because we're talking about kids that they're going to compete with also — and so having kids buy in that they want to be a part of something, even if it means that they've got to sacrifice some on the front end, that's pretty special.”
Both Cunningham and Walker took an official visit together in late September. They formed a plan to play together then.
And they also showed off their skills on the court.
“They have a lot of raw talent, just as far as athleticism and knowing the game,” OSU senior Thomas Dziagwa said. “They' re just really, really good. I haven't watched them a lot, but just in that 40 minutes we played up and down you could just tell that they're really, really good basketball players.”
The current recruiting class is ranked No. 8 overall in the nation by Rivals. com. It' s likely to climb even higher by the end of the first signing period, according to Boynton.
“I don't think that we are finished yet,” Boynton said. “I can say that with pretty good confidence.”