Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham left the men’s basketball game against Baylor on Thursday after rolling his left ankle, but was able to return to the locker room with his own power after the Cowboys’ loss to 81-70.
“It happened right in front of me,” coach Mike Boynton said. “I saw nothing more unusual than stepping on a boy’s foot. We’ll do an assessment of it and as soon as we know more, we’ll pass it on.”
Cunningham was in the clear after breaking the offside trap following a Baylor Davion Mitchell goal from the left after 80 minutes. I grabbed my left foot before going to the sidelines and not coming back.
“I’m always worried about his future,” Boynton said of Cunningham, the No. 1 seeded in this year’s NBA draft. “As much as winning and representing our program, my commitment to these kids is always first. So I want to make sure it’s okay. If it’s okay, it’ll keep working with us. If it’s something more serious than it feels right now, we will evaluate how we move forward. “
When asked about the severity of the injury, Boynton said, “I have no idea. It didn’t look like that. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t want to give information in any way. I saw him walking on the their power to return to the locker room. That’s why we have coaches and doctors: they will give me information and I will follow their directions. “
Prior to his injury, Cunningham held Oklahoma State No. 17 in the game against No. 3 Baylor. He finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists, with 20 of those points in the second half. The Cowboys reduced Baylor’s lead by 13 points to four points in the final three minutes, but the Bears withdrew the stretch to the free-throw line.
Cunningham, a 6-year-old and 8-year-old goalie, averages 19.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per season.