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Oklahoma State Basketball

OSU Star Cunningham Named To Naismith Trophy Final 10

March 4, 2021
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STILLWATER – Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham was named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2021 Naismith Trophy, the national player of the year award given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

The eight-time Big 12 weekly award winner leads the conference in scoring with 19.5 points per game, and his averages of 6.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game make him one of just five power conference players in the last 20 seasons to boast that all-around stat line.

Thanks in part to Cunningham's 40-point, 11-point outburst on Saturday, Oklahoma State swept rival Oklahoma and jumped to No. 17 in this week's Associated Press Top-25 – the team's highest ranking since Jan. 27, 2014.

This week's USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, Cunningham is also among the final five for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and was named to the John Wooden Award Late Season Top-20 Watch List.

The 2020 Naismith High School Trophy winner, Cunningham is looking to join Shane Battier as the only players to win both the Naismith prep and collegiate honors. The Arlington, Texas native would be the first Naismith Trophy winner in OSU history, and the first Cowboy to win a major player of the year award since Bob Kurland won that honor from Sporting News in 1946.

The Naismith semifinalist list will be whittled down to four finalists on March 16. The 2021 Naismith Trophy will be awarded during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 4.

Cunningham and the No. 17/17 Cowboys are in Waco, Texas to take on No. 3/3 Baylor at 6 p.m. on ESPN2. OSU will then head to Morgantown, W.Va. to battle No. 6/6 West Virginia in the regular-season finale on Saturday at 1 p.m.

2021 Naismith Trophy Semifinalists
Jared Butler - Jr., G, Baylor
Cade Cunningham - Fr., G, Oklahoma State
Hunter Dickinson - Fr., C, Michigan
Ayo Dosunmu - Jr., G, Illinois
Luka Garza - Sr., C, Iowa
Quentin Grimes - Jr., G, Houston
Herbert Jones - Sr., F/G, Alabama
Corey Kispert - Sr., F, Gonzaga
Evan Mobley - Fr., F, USC
Drew Timme - So., F, Gonzaga

 
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