STILLWATER – Some more mid-season accolades for true freshman Cade Cunningham as the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced on Thursday he was one of 30 players named to the 2021 Naismith Trophy Midseason Team.
Cunningham is one of just five freshmen named to the team, as well as one of just five Big 12 players. He’s also looking to become the first player since Shane Battier, and only the second all-time, to win both the Naismith High School Trophy and the collegiate Naismith Trophy.
Cunningham currently leads the Big 12 in scoring with 18.7 points per game and his performances this season have led to four Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards. He’s only the fourth Cowboy in program history to have won the award at least four times in a season joining Marcus Smart, Maurice Baker and Mario Boggan.
According to Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations, there are only four players in other power conferences in the last 20 years who can claim Cunningham’s all-around stat line of 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks, and it’s a rather elite list of guys: Ben Simmons (LSU), Evan Turner (Ohio State), Julius Hodge (N.C. State) and Dwyane Wade (Marquette).
The Cowboys have at least six games remaining on the schedule this season, Kansas State (Feb. 13), Iowa State (Feb. 16), Baylor (Feb. 20), Texas Tech (Feb. 22) and Oklahoma (Feb. 25 and 27). While he’s struggled with turning the ball over, Cunningham has really shined the past month and look for him to rise to the occasion in four of the toughest games the Pokes will play this season.
2021 Naismith Trophy Midseason Team
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech
Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky
Jared Butler, Baylor
Marcus Carr, Minnesota
Justin Champagnie, Pitt
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Derek Culver, West Virginia
Cade Cunningham,Oklahoma State
Oscar da Silva, Stanford
Hunter Dickinson, Michigan
Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois
Luka Garza , Iowa
Collin Gillespie, Villanova
Quentin Grimes, Houston
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana
Herbert Jones, Alabama
Carlik Jones, Louisville
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago
E.J. Liddell, Ohio State
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall
Mac McClung, Texas Tech
Davion Mitchell, Baylor
Evan Mobley, USC
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga
Cameron Thomas, LSU
Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Trevion Williams, Purdue
Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton
