UNC Basketball: Tar Heels target laughs at notion that Duke is his favorite

5-star prospect laughs off rumors that Duke is favored in his recruitment

Some college commitments are won before the recruitment ever begins; like when a prospect quickly commits to his dream school or follows in a family member’s footsteps. Others, though, are won on the recruiting trail with a lavish campus visit or thanks to a convincing pitch from a head coach.

There are those that seem very obvious from the start, and end exactly as they were expected to. And then there are those that leave onlookers clueless until the very moment that an announcement is made.

If Cole Anthony’s is either of the two, it’s likely the latter.

Anthony is a consensus top-three prospect, and the fastest-rising recruit in high school basketball. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound combo guard out of New York City is the son of former 12-year NBA veteran Greg Anthony.

His outstanding play in recent months has skyrocketed his stock throughout the amateur basketball community, resulting in his rise to the top of many recruiting boards and mock drafts.

247Sports’ Jerry Meyer recently stated that Anthony would be No. 1 on his list of 2019 prospects. USA Today also released rankings of the country’s top 25 high school basketball players, and Anthony topped that list, too. Rivals and ESPN currently have him ranked second and third, respectively.

He’s been credited as one of the most athletic players in the class, and has a competitive edge that is rivaled by few. He’s a talented offensive player, a terrific rebounder – particularly for a 6-foot-3 guard – and a gifted passer. There’s not a spot on the court that you have to hide his weaknesses, because he really doesn’t have any.

Anthony’s list of scholarship offers includes some of the top names in college basketball. Duke, Kansas, Georgetown, Louisville, Miami, Oregon and UCLA headline the programs that have already offered him, and North Carolina is expected to join that list at some point.

There’s been a growing consensus in recent weeks that the talented basketball prodigy is headed to Duke, what with the program’s success in recruiting highly rated prospects and his likelihood to make the jump to pro ball after just one season. Duke also meets the level of academic excellence that Anthony has stated is important to him in a college.

But despite being frequently linked to Duke – which is nothing new for a player of Anthony’s caliber – there isn’t any indication from him or his camp where he’s going to end up. It’s been quite the opposite, actually; mysteriously quiet, some would say. Whether that’s by design or because he truly doesn’t have an idea where he’s headed yet, nobody knows.

With that in mind, perhaps we’ve all been just a bit too hasty to put him in a Blue Devils uniform next year. If his recent comments are any indication, then we have.

In an interview with the New York Post, Anthony shot down the notion that there is a favorite among the dozen-plus schools who have offered him and the countless others that are involved. In fact, he laughed at the very mention of Duke being the front-runner in his recruitment.

"“I don’t know how people are going to tell me where they think I’m going before I even have an idea where I’m going,” Anthony said. “That’s what I find hilarious.”"

Maybe Anthony is playing coy, or maybe his sentiments are sincere. Either way, it appears that the door is open for other schools to put up a fight and potentially land the elite guard. In this writer’s opinion, Duke still has the inside track to land Anthony, but there at least looks to be some wiggle room for other programs to give the Blue Devils a run for their money.

And after signing its highest-rated recruit in nearly a decade, why couldn’t that program be North Carolina?

Next: Tar Heels' 2019 class could look a lot like this...

Stick with Keeping It Heel in the coming months for more on Anthony and the entire class of 2019.

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