Top-ranked CG Cade Cunningham cuts Texas from consideration

On Thursday evening, top-ranked combo guard Cade Cunningham cut his list of remaining options in half, and the move was one that left Shaka Smart’s Texas Longhorns on the outside looking in with the Montverde Academy (Fla.) product.

Texas was included in Cunningham’s top 10 in late May, but at this juncture, only Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, and Washington remain, per multiple reports.

Even at the time of his initial list cut months ago, it appeared as if the Longhorns were a long-shot, at best.

Beyond the typical chore of out-recruiting multiple blue bloods, in-conference foe Oklahoma State made a major move in Cunningham’s recruitment when the program hired his brother, Cannen Cunningham, as an assistant coach in late June. Unsurprisingly, the Pokes have since taken complete control of his Crystal Ball, owning each of Cunningham’s 16 picks to date.

While Cunningham cutting Texas from consideration isn’t especially surprising, as momentum between the two sides never amounted to much, Texas now has the task of preventing his decision from altering that of priority target and local prospect, five-star power forward Greg Brown, as the two share the floor on the AAU circuit with the Texas Titans.