OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton kept star recruit Cade Cunningham from leaving the program, in part, because he was willing to lose him.

Cunningham, one of the nation's top basketball recruits, has chose to remain at Oklahoma State despite the program being banned from the 2021 postseason. Cunningham was impressed with the way Boynton approached him after the NCAA handed down its decision.

"There's not a lot of coaches that would say, 'Do what you want to do, I'm going to help you if you want to leave," Cunningham said Wednesday.