UNC Basketball: Cole Anthony on playing with Coby White: ‘It would work’
North Carolina’s top prospect talks recruiting, and what teaming up with current freshman Coby White might look like for UNC basketball
The two biggest topics currently surrounding the North Carolina basketball program — other than the Tar Heels’ recent Sweet 16 berth and quest for a seventh NCAA Tournament championship — both revolve around the Tar Heels’ back court.
The first is whether or not superstar freshman guard Coby White remains in Chapel Hill next season, or enters his name into June’s NBA Draft as a surefire lottery pick. The second is if Roy Williams and company can secure the commitment of class of 2019 point guard Cole Anthony.
White, who has had, arguably, the best season that a North Carolina freshman player has ever had, has quickly gone from being an assumed multiple-year player at UNC to a top NBA prospect who’d be crazy to stick around the college ranks for any longer than absolutely necessary.
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His 16.1 points per game are second-most on the team. His 4.1 assists per game are tops on the Tar Heels, as are his three 30-point games this season. He’s hit more three-pointers as a freshman than any player in North Carolina history, and he’s just 54 points shy of breaking Joseph Forte’s record for most points scored as a freshman in program history.
So, what does all of that mean? Well, it likely means that White’s days in a North Carolina uniform are numbered. The odds certainly aren’t in favor of him sticking around for another year in college, leaving a huge gap in the Tar Heels’ roster for next season.
Enter Cole Anthony, a 5-star prospect and all-around savant in the back court who’s strongly considering North Carolina as his college destination next season. We’ve figured all along that Anthony would probably stray away from a school with a guard as talented as White already in place; that it would likely require White’s departure to the NBA for Anthony to sign with UNC.
It’s looking more and more like that assumption may have been wrong.
In a recent interview with 247Sports Evan Daniels, Anthony discussed a number of topics, including his interest in the Tar Heels, and whether or not a commitment there was dependent upon White moving on when the season is over.
Daniels asked Anthony if he was paying attention to Coby White, and whether or not his decision to stay at UNC or go to the NBA would have any impact on his college choice.
"“Yeah, we just want to monitor and see who ends up staying at each school and who ends up leaving to make sure we have enough talent as a freshman to make it to the Final Four,” Anthony said. “That’s my goal.I have no problem with that,” Anthony said of playing alongside White at UNC. “He can score the ball and I think he’s more comfortable at the two position. It allows him to go score more. I think we could work together, it would work out.”"
The interesting thing to note is that Anthony has seemingly put a premium on winning at the collegiate level, stating that he wants to go to a team with enough firepower to reach a Final Four in what will likely be his only season in college.
Considering his five finalists — Georgetown, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon and Wake Forest — there’s one program on that list that stands above the rest, giving him the best opportunity to reach that goal; and that’s North Carolina.
Look for Anthony to wrap up his recruitment in the coming weeks, and make an announcement on his college decision at the beginning of April.
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Stick with Keeping It Heel for all the latest news and information on the Cole Anthony recruitment, as well as Coby White and the North Carolina basketball program on their road to the Final Four.