UNC Basketball: Cole Anthony taking a long look at this West Coast school

This West Coast school may not be the favorite for Cole Anthony, but will give North Carolina a run for its money

The North Carolina Tar Heels, to this point, seem to be the consensus favorite to land five-star point guard Cole Anthony.

The class of 2019 prospect has been linked to the Tar Heels numerous times over the past year. After multiple trips to the North Carolina campus since August, and a handful of visits from UNC head coach Roy Williams, various college basketball recruiting analysts began to favor the Tar Heels in Anthony’s recruitment.

In early October, 247Sports Director of Basketball Scouting Jerry Meyer predicted that Anthony’s recruitment would end in a commitment to North Carolina. And 44 percent of the overall votes tallied in Anthony’s Crystal Ball are in favor of the Tar Heels, too. More recently, an anonymous source close to Anthony’s recruitment stated that he’d be “shocked” if Anthony didn’t end up a Tar Heel.

But despite all of the good press surrounding the UNC program and its progress in the Anthony recruitment, this one isn’t a done deal yet.

According to Rivals recruiting analyst Corey Evans, the Oregon Ducks have made up a lot of ground and “might be the sneaky favorite in a fluid situation.” Add to it that the Ducks have garnered 33 percent of the vote in Anthony’s Crystal Ball — including the two most recent picks that came in mid-December — and Oregon appears to be in a good position with the elite guard.

With three four-star prospects from the 2019 class already committed to Oregon, the Ducks have the eighth-ranked class in the nation according to the 247Sports team rankings. A commitment from a player of Anthony’s caliber would only bolster the Ducks’ recruiting class, and send them soaring up the 2019 team rankings.

And although Anthony has taken official visits to Georgetown and Notre Dame — and also has interest in Miami and Wake Forest — Evans believes that this is a two-horse race between North Carolina and Oregon.

It’s also worth noting that while Evans still believes that a spring commitment is most likely for Anthony, he concedes that a winter commitment is possible. According to him, there have been whispers within the college basketball community that Anthony could be looking to make a decision in the not-too-distant future.

The 6-foot-3, 184-pound guard out of New York City is the No. 3 overall prospect in the class of 2019 according to the 247Sports Composite. He’s the No. 1 player at his position, and the top prospect in the state of Virginia.

Stick with Keeping It Heel in the coming months for more on the Tar Heels’ recruitment of Cole Anthony.