Cannen Cunningham

by **Ikus** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 1:36 am

I mentioned this in another thread, but those who haven't been to a game yet need to get out to Moody to see Cunningham play. He's going to be very good. He's good already, but he has his freshman moments, but the raw talent that is in there is really impressive. When he signed, I thought he might be a Patrick Simpson-type, but I don't think that's a fair comparison. Cunningham is stronger than Simpson was as a freshman, and seems to be a more explosive leaper, although I'm not sure he has the same timing (yet) on his jumps when blocking shots -- Simpson was awesome at that.

Cunningham is a more powerful player than I expected him to be. There was a play late in the game when we had the ball in the offensive end. Cunningham broke down the lane and took the inbounds pass and went up aggressively toward the rim. He missed the basket when he got fouled, but it was a quick, explosive move to the basket that we haven't gotten from a big guy in a while. Looked a little like Ike Ofuegbu (as a senior) on that play, but he's bigger.

By the way, Cunningham and Robert Nyakundi are both listed at 6-foot-8. I'm guessing that Cunningham is still growing, because when they stood side by side, Cunningham is clearly taller. He's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch, because he has got tons of talent.

by **hoopmanx** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:14 am

Found it interesting that Doh compared him to a young PJ Brown in the post game. Clearly thinks he's next level gifted and a very strong kid, just not a physical kid yet. All of Cunningham/Jones/Manuel should be entrenched in the line-up

by **papawasamustang** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:09 pm

I was very impressed with CC play yesterday. I really liked what I saw from Vilde in his limited time.
A good coach finds a way to get these 2 guys on the court together.

by **RGV Pony** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:12 pm

Cannen needs to be at the 4 & Vilde at 5

by **gostangs** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 12:23 pm

Totally agree with that - although i think both should be 4's if we are elevating the program. we need a true center and let the three of them vary the rotation - with both of these guys on the floor sometimes. There will be teams where we need both of these rebounders out there or we will get slaughtered off the boards.

by **hoopmanx** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 2:18 pm

gostangs wrote:Totally agree with that - although i think both should be 4's if we are elevating the program. we need a true center and let the three of them vary the rotation - with both of these guys on the floor sometimes. There will be teams where we need both of these rebounders out there or we will get slaughtered off the boards.

Honestly, I'm not sure Cannen/Vilde is considered a better rebounder than either Shawne or Leslee. We need to trim the rotation to 8 or 9, and Vilde/Manuel need to be in it.

Let's be completely real. Any coach that has seen our roster knows the backcourt of the future is Manuel/Russell. Cotton is a volume shooting combo that will shoot you in or out. Some days you ride him, other days he's just part of the rotation

by **Monkeystang** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:25 pm

Yesterday was the first time for me to see Cannen play and I was impressed. Looking forward to seeing him develop. Can't wait to get Williams on the floor though.

by **SMUguy** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:58 am

hoopmanx wrote:Found it interesting that Doh compared him to a young PJ Brown in the post game. Clearly thinks he's next level gifted and a very strong kid, just not a physical kid yet. All of Cunningham/Jones/Manuel should be entrenched in the line-up

I totally agree with this. They're all going to make mistakes, but in the little I have seen, they all have considerable talent, athleticism and instincts. Cunningham looks the most polished now, but I'd bet all three are playing major minutes by the time we get to the conference games, and deservedly so.

by **PonySnob** » Tue Nov 29, 2011 11:36 am

Would like to see Jalen Jones have a big game........

by **Higher Authority** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:15 pm

What has happened to Cunningham? At the beginning of the season, he gets compared to a guy who played a long time in the NBA, and now he can't get off the bench? I saw another thread that said he had been muscled around recently, but is he hurt, too? Has he lost confidence? He has a ton of potential, and I hope he gets the chance to show it.

by **Digetydog** » Sun Feb 05, 2012 4:28 pm

hoopmanx wrote:All of Cunningham/Jones/Manuel should be entrenched in the line-up

He should play them until the drop from exhaustion.

by **PonyKai** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:28 am

JohnMcK wrote:What happened was once again everyone bought into what Hoopmanx said about talent, and once again it was proved that he doesn't know what he is talking about.

That's cute. Keep em coming, please. Brightens the morning.

by **Mustangsabu** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 12:14 pm

Don't tell me we have another one....

---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.219359,-97.596156

by **ClassOf81** » Mon Feb 06, 2012 9:56 pm

Right. Based on his track record, I'll go with hoopmanx's talent evaluation over that of anyone I know.