Tar Heels in the NBA: Cole Anthony climbing rookie rankings

Former UNC Basketball point guard Cole Anthony is starting to make headlines in his rookie season in the NBA. After being selected No. 15 overall by the Orlando Magic, Anthony found himself coming off the bench for the first few games.

But after an injury to Markelle Fultz sidelined the point guard, Anthony took over the starting spot and has now climbed up the rookie rankings in the process.

NBA.com debuted their annual rookie ladder sponsored by Kia just last week with LaMelo Ball taking the top spot. But after a week and the second edition, Anthony is starting to climb near the top of the list.

Anthony checks in at No. 4 in the latest edition of the rankings going into Wednesday night’s games, up five spots from his debut at No. 9 a week ago. He trails Golden State’s James Wiseman, Ball and Sacramento’s Tyrese Haliburton on the list. He was the biggest mover of all rookies since the first list was released.

Since taking over as the starter, Anthony has set a new career high in points and has delivered a buzzer-beater for the Magic. He’s playing with more confidence and finds himself in a good spot to climb the rankings even further.

He’s averaging 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and  3.3 assists per game this season including 13.4 points over the past week. Those numbers should continue to go up as the year goes on with Anthony playing better. Anthony is even improving from beyond the arc too, going 15 of 29 for 51.7 percent in his last 7 games.

There’s a lot of season left and don’t be shocked if you continue to see Anthony climbing the rookie ladder even higher and potentially making a run at the Rookie of the Year Award.

For more on Anthony and other former UNC Basketball players in the NBA, please check back with Keeping It Heel.