Trio of PG’s see their recruitments take off at Live Period GASO

There are plenty of storylines from this weekend’s Live Period GASO, but the main takeaway was how 3 players who were off of the national radar burst onto the scene in front of hundreds of college coaches. TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook takes a look at how each of the three PG’s took their game to the next level.

Very few players can look back at this weekend and say they matched Cobe Williams’ production and consistency levels at the Live Period GASO. The Dallas CAN Academy PG was doing it all and led his Showtyme team to an undefeated 3-0 record at the fieldhouse in impressive fashion. Williams looked a step quicker than most players on the court and would beat his man off the dribble with alarming regularity. Williams’ shooting also stood out, with the player knocking down pull up threes in transition to really impress the multitude of college coaches taking in his games.

Since the weekend started Williams has pulled in 4 offers from Southern, Texas Southern, UT-Arlington, and UT-Permian Basin, with more sure to follow. Several coaches commented that his leadership on the floor and ability to distribute the ball like a traditional point guard jumped out at them at the GASO. Williams’ scoring ability took center stage this weekend, but he always seemed to know when to feed the ball inside to good effect with players like Xavier Cork hanging around the rim. Expect Williams to return from Vegas this next weekend with a handful of additional offers.

KJ Cunningham embodied the old saying “you don’t have to score to affect the game” at times this weekend, thriving in the pick-and-roll look for Texas Impact. Don’t get me wrong, Cunningham still put up some numbers on the score sheet, including a memorable two hand flush in transition, but it was how he attacked switches and consistently either found the roll man or kicked to an open shooter that had college coaches salivating over his signature. The way Cunningham led his team down the stretch in his game against Houston Hoops put college coaches on notice, and he backed that up with several other strong outings at the GASO. TexasHoops staff has been high on the Rudder PG for some time now, and the rest of the country is starting to catch on to the next great player out of Bryan.

Cunningham’s stock has taken off in the days following the Live Period GASO, with offers being extended from the likes of Central Michigan, Longwood, Old Dominion, Tulsa, and Weber State to go with previous offers from Air Force, Louisiana-Lafayette, UMass-Lowell, and UT-Arlington. This weekend all but confirmed his status as one of the top PG’s in the 2019 class, and it might only be a matter of time before a Power 5 schools makes a move to sign Cunningham.

Jamal Shead has been featured on this site several times this spring/summer, but his latest string of performances at the Live Period GASO have given him some national notoriety. The Urban ASAK PG lit up some shoe teams over the weekend, and had his midrange jumper trained on the bottom of the net. Shead’s blend of toughness, skill, and great basketball instincts set him apart from most of the 2020 class. His ability to come up with steals in 1 on 1 situations (against nationally ranked guards, no less) is uncanny and it is clear that he prides himself on his work on the defensive end.

Shead doubled his offer total as of Tuesday, with Drexel joining Texas State as the pair of schools who have offered the player. But it is still early days in the Manor PG’s recruitment and several big schools are already keeping tabs on him. With the national recognition he earned with his performances this weekend, it now seems a matter of when, not if, he receives his first Power 5 offer with both Texas and TCU among other schools interested.