The NCAA dropped a bombshell on Oklahoma State at the end of last week, announcing that the Cowboys' men's basketball program would be ineligible for postseason play next year due to rules violations committed by a former assistant coach.
Setting aside what the severe penalty levied on Oklahoma State means for other high-profile programs caught up in the college basketball corruption scandal, this ruling by the NCAA could have a profound impact on the upcoming season.
That's because Stillwater was set to be the temporary home of Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2020 class and the early favorite to be the No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft.
The Cowboys' postseason ban has put Cunningham's own future in question. Will he still enroll at Oklahoma State, knowing he won't have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament in what will surely be his only season of college ball? Will he instead jump straight to the pros, following the lead of other recent five-star recruits who have decided to go overseas or sign on to the G League's new program instead of playing in college? Or, will Cunningham go to another school?
Under NCAA rules, he would be free to choose another college and play this coming season without penalty. In the immediate aftermath of the NCAA's ruling on Oklahoma State, attention turned to Kentucky _ Cunningham's clear second choice _ as a possible alternative.
Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans spoke with Cunningham shortly before the NCAA's ruling was made public Friday, and he's following the No. 1-ranked recruit's situation closely.
"I still don't think Cade knows what he wants to do," Evans told the Herald-Leader on Monday. "Cade was flabbergasted and didn't know, really, the direction to take.
"Put yourself in his shoes _ for the past eight months, you have one thing in your mind, and that's 'I'm going to enroll in Oklahoma State.' And then, literally overnight, it's erased. That's hard for any human being _ even more so an 18-year-old kid _ to really grasp. And that's why I think it's going to take some time to play out."
Evans said he also spoke with Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton and some other staff members, and all were left in a state of shock by the NCAA's ruling. "No one saw it coming," he said.
The allegations surrounded former Cowboys assistant Lamont Evans, who the NCAA said violated ethical conduct rules when he accepted between $18,150 and $22,000 in bribes from two financial advisers to influence student-athletes. Evans was one of the assistant coaches arrested as part of the federal government's investigation into corruption in college basketball three years ago.
Lamont Evans spent just one season as an Oklahoma State assistant, and that was under head coach Brad Underwood, who left at the end of that year for the same job at Illinois. Boynton served for one season as an assistant alongside Evans, but Boynton was not accused of any wrongdoing, and Evans was fired by Oklahoma State following his arrest.
Since none of the current staff members were involved _ and Oklahoma State was transparent with the NCAA's investigation _ a penalty of this magnitude was not expected.
Recruiting analyst Corey Evans said he, too, was in "disbelief" after hearing about Oklahoma State's postseason ban.
Boynton said publicly Friday that he would stand by Cunningham as he sorts through his options for next season and support his ultimate decision "100 percent." Cunningham's brother, Cannen, was hired as an assistant coach at Oklahoma State last year, and that addition played a major part in Cunningham's eventual commitment to the Cowboys.
