Former KU guard Sam Cunliffe eyeing Washington as next stop

By Matt Tait     Jul 31, 2018

article image
Kansas guard Sam Cunliffe (3) spins into a jam during practice on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan.

One of the big factors in former KU guard Sam Cunliffe’s decision to leave Kansas was the desire to get closer to home.

Eight days after [announcing his departure from Lawrence,][1] Cunliffe is closing in on making that happen.

According to a source familiar with Cunliffe’s plans, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard from Seattle, who made a stop at Arizona State before coming to Kansas, is eyeing a return to the Pac-12 for the final three years of his college career.

The source said Cunliffe has identified the University of Washington as his top choice and added that he is in the process of trying to make the move happen.

Cunliffe, who will sit out the 2018-19 season and have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2019-20, also has considered Pepperdine and a couple of other programs in the Northwest.

The Huskies had just two seniors on the 2017-18 team that beat KU at Sprint Center last December, but saw those two and four other players leave the program since the end of the 2017-18 season. Three of the four nonseniors left to transfer and four of the six departures were guards.

Washington coach Mike Hopkins was prepared for the departures, lining up a five-man haul in the Class of 2018 that ranked No. 32 in the nation according to Rivals.com to fill the spots. But only one of UW’s five incoming freshmen is a guard and none of the newcomers play Cunliffe’s position.

Therefore, adding Cunliffe, in terms of position and the open scholarship, would make sense, provided the Huskies coaching staff believes he would fit with their program.

According to the Rivals.com database, Washington was one of eight programs to offer Cunliffe a scholarship out of high school, back when he was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2016, ranked No. 36 nationally.

That offer came with former UW coach Lorenzo Romar (now at Pepperdine) leading the Huskies. Romar assistant coach Will Conroy stayed on with Hopkins and remains on the current UW coaching staff.

[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2018/jul/23/junior-guard-sam-cunliffe-leaving-kansas/?mens_basketball

PREV POST

KU thrower claims gold at German U20 Championships

NEXT POST

52323Former KU guard Sam Cunliffe eyeing Washington as next stop

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.