Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Why Cole Anthony will be the best PG under Roy Williams

By Alec Lasley

FORT MYERS, FL - DECEMBER 21: Cole Anthony #3 of Oak Hill Academy looks on against Imhotep Charter High School during the City Of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on December 21, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
FORT MYERS, FL - DECEMBER 21: Cole Anthony #3 of Oak Hill Academy looks on against Imhotep Charter High School during the City Of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena on December 21, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
MARIETTA, GA – MARCH 25: Cole Anthony competes in the 3-point competition during the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest on March 25, 2019 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade)
MARIETTA, GA – MARCH 25: Cole Anthony competes in the 3-point competition during the 2019 Powerade Jam Fest on March 25, 2019 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images for Powerade) /

Scoring Ability

Anthony is a rare talent that can score at all levels of the court and shows it game in and game out.

He is a relentless driver and with his toughness, he is someone who stays in attack mode all game long. With decent size at 6-foot-3, Anthony is able to use his body when finishing at the rim, shielding the ball away from bigger shot-blocking bigs.

What drives his game is how special he is in transition. Just how Carolina likes it he is able to get up the floor with the best of them, very similar to Lawson. Whereas White was very much in attack mode all game long, he was mainly at one speed. Lawson and Anthony however, could easily use a change of pace and with their quick first step, they will be past the first line of defense in the blink of an eye.

What separates him from Lawson though is his size. At just 5-foot-11, while Lawson was a terrific scoring point guard, he would struggle at times trying to get his shot over bigger defenders. Anthony’s four inches gives way to that and allows for his finishing ability.

Early in his high school career, Anthony wasn’t known for his shooting ability but as he continued to grow his game, his shot came along with it. Just recently at the McDonald’s All-American festivities, he won the three-point contest for the boys. Last season at Oak Hill, he shot 36.6 percent from three on over four attempts per game.

Comparing his shooting with the other point guards listed earlier, outside of a 47 percent junior season from Lawson and a 44 percent junior year from Felton, the other 13 seasons with those five Carolina point guards saw their average anywhere from 34 to 39 percent.

With Anthony’s ability to make at even a 34 percent rate in college would keep the defense honest enough to open up his driving ability.

Overall, Anthony had six games this past year with Oak Hill of above 25 points, including two 30-point outings.

Home/UNC Basketball