Oklahoma State offers 5-star class of 2022 guard Dariq Whitehead

Oklahoma State basketball coach Mike Boynton extended a scholarship offer to 5-star Class of 2022 shooting guard Dariq Whitehead of Montverde Academy of Arlington, Texas, on Monday.

Whitehead is teammates at Montverde Academy with Cowboys 2020 signee Cade Cunningham, who was obviously pleased about the offer:

At face value, this is a no-brainer decision for Boynton. Offering a scholarship to a 5-star athlete is something every school wanting to compete for championships does on a regular basis. But there’s another layer to this story that I feel is very important.

In an interview with 247Sports, Caleb Love, a 2020 point guard and North Carolina commit, described how the coaching staff there used the example of current Tar Heel Cole Anthony to help sell Love on the prospect of coming to Chapel Hill.

“They want me to come in right after Cole [Anthony], since they believe Cole is going to be a one and done, they want me to be the same way, just lead that team and be that point guard for them, making plays for others and creating plays for myself”

Sound like something Mike Boynton could say as well?

Statements like that represent the kind of effect securing elite talent can do for your program’s recruiting efforts. The impact of Cunningham’s commitment will be felt for many years after he has most likely been drafted No. 1 in the 2021 NBA Draft and becomes a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate (OK, maybe that’s a little presumptuous). If he’s able and willing to help recruit other elite players to choose the Pokes over blue-bloods, that’s a dream scenario for Cowboy fans.

I remember writing about this earlier when Cunningham was considering OSU and then again when he signed: landing the No. 2 overall player in the country is a big deal. His potential success not only in college but at the next level gives Boynton a shining example to future recruits of what the Cowboys can offer them.