We know that some people in the organization agree with ex-Knicks head coach David Fizdale’s assessment that the club could use a lead guard who is a threat to shoot. That kind of player, in theory, would help open up the offense in several ways, including by putting more pressure on defenses in Mitchell Robinson pick-and-rolls. A strong shooting lead guard would also complement RJ Barrett well. One lead guard the Knicks have scouted extensively, per an NCAA source, is North Carolina’s Cole Anthony. “New York has done their homework on Cole,” the NCAA source said.
Cole Anthony Rumors
We know that some people in the organization agree with ex-Knicks head coach David Fizdale’s assessment that the club could use a lead guard who is a threat to shoot. That kind of player, in theory, would help open up the offense in several ways, including by putting more pressure on defenses in Mitchell Robinson pick-and-rolls. A strong shooting lead guard would also complement RJ Barrett well. One lead guard the Knicks have scouted extensively, per an NCAA source, is North Carolina’s Cole Anthony. “New York has done their homework on Cole,” the NCAA source said.
One lead guard the Knicks have scouted extensively, per an NCAA source, is North Carolina’s Cole Anthony. “New York has done their homework on Cole,” the NCAA source said.
A few caveats here: the Knicks doing extensive homework on a player isn’t necessarily a sign that they are going to pick that player. They are probably doing extensive scouting on several players to prepare for different draft scenarios in advance of the NBA Lottery. Also, the Knicks’ scouting this season was done by GM Scott Perry and his brain trust. New Knicks president Leon Rose will obviously rely on that scouting to evaluate the draft. Perry is Rose’s hand-picked general manager for the 2020-21 season.
It’s only a matter of time now until it becomes a reality for the son of former NBA guard Greg Anthony. Friday afternoon, the Upper West Side native decided he would not return to North Carolina for his sophomore year, telling The Post he was going pro and signing with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management.
“It’s really one of the best feelings you can have, knowing all your hard work is coming together to live your dream,” Anthony said in an exclusive phone interview. “It’s still a ways away, not knowing when the draft is going to be, but an opportunity to pretty much call myself a pro soon is surreal. It’s really one of the best feelings ever.”
The Knicks need a point guard and there is a highly rated one who lives just a few subway stops from the Garden. It could be a perfect match, one that Cole Anthony — the son of former Knicks guard Greg Anthony — would welcome. “It would be pretty cool,” the Upper West Side native and one-and-done former North Carolina star told The Post in an exclusive interview. “I was a fan for a good amount of time. I do like the Knicks. I think they definitely can use a guard, a good scoring point guard. If that happens, it would be pretty cool to play in front of my little brother.”
Scouts and analysts are split on Cole Anthony, North Carolina’s stud freshman point guard, who has yet to announce his intentions to return to school or go pro. Some forecast that Anthony will fall into the low teens in the NBA draft, if he does forego his final three years of college eligibility. Others believe the son of former NBA point guard Greg Anthony, who will turn 20 on May 15, will be a top-five pick or possibly will fall to his hometown Knicks at No. 6. Projections are across the board for the Upper West Side native who has been in the public eye since starting as a freshman at Catholic school Archbishop Molloy in Queens. “I’ve gotten the complete spectrum,” former NBA point guard and ACC Network analyst Cory Alexander, who coached Anthony for one year as an assistant at powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, said in a phone interview. “Some people love him, and some people would not want him on their team for whatever reason.”
Two NBA scouts offered differing opinions. One scout said he sees Anthony as more of a scorer than a point guard and someone who needs the ball in his hands. ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla had a similar viewpoint, raving about Anthony’s athleticism and star potential, but worrying about his inefficiency for a player drafted in the top five or six. “I just don’t think he wins you games,” the scout said.
Lottery pick candidate Cole Anthony delaying draft decision
After finishing his first season as a Tar Heel, Cole Anthony is understandably being asked about his future. In a personal statement, Anthony took to Instagram to give fans an answer. “A lot of people have been asking me if I am going to declare for the NBA Draft. Anyone who knows me understands that playing in the NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine, but given the pain that America and the world are experiencing at this time, I am going to refrain from making any announcements around that topic.”
Cole Anthony: “Lliving in New York City, the Coronavirus hits hard. My family and I know many people directly affected by the Coronavirus-many hospitalized. A few in critical condition and one who has died. New York City is experiencing the highest number of Coronavirus cases in the United States. So my biggest concern right now is trying to figure out how I can help during this crisis. We are all in this together! Stay safe.”
25 Jan
Jared Weiss: UNC coach Roy Williams being asked about Cole Anthony playing almost all the minutes in early season games: “I don’t believe in this load management crap in the NBA. You pay me $25 million a year and my load is going to be pretty light.”
The top five projected picks per ESPN.com at this point are Memphis freshman big man James Wiseman, who has missed two exhibition games with an ankle sprain, Georgia shooting guard Anthony Edwards, point guard LaMelo Ball, now playing in Australia, North Carolina point guard Cole Anthony and Deni Avdija, a wing from Maccabi Tel Aviv. “This could be a scenario like 1997 with the Spurs when David Robinson went down and all of a sudden they had the No. 1 pick with Tim Duncan,” ESPN’s Jay Williams said on air. “I think this is projecting for them to be the favorites going into next season.”
Now nearly 19 years later, Anthony is a proud papa who gets sentimental watching his highly recruited son, Cole, lead the offense at a Team USA practice during the recent Hoop Summit in Portland. “It was my first child, so it was emotional,” Greg Anthony told The Undefeated. “We played on a Friday night and I flew home Saturday so he could be born. It was just quite an experience. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, so every time they tried to get him out, his heart rate would drop. So for a while they thought we had to do a C-section.
Greg Anthony initially thought his son had the potential to be a great baseball player. He also wasn’t pressuring his son to play basketball. But in the fifth grade, Cole told his father he had a different sports passion: basketball. Little did Greg Anthony know that his son viewed him as the biggest inspiration in running to basketball. “I always was in love with basketball, and that was when I fell in love with the sport,” Cole Anthony said. “I really don’t remember what pushed me over the limit, but it probably had something to do with him having played in the NBA. I’ve always had that dream since I was younger.”
There is the pressure associated with being the son of a former NBA player. For Cole Anthony, that means following in Greg Anthony’s large footsteps. Cole faces the pressure of being hailed as the next great New York City prospect, a title that comes with plenty of potential pratfalls, and being ranked near the top of his class nationally. Pressure of being the first freshman to start at point guard from Day 1 at his high school, Archbishop Molloy in Queens, in more than three decades.
Cole doesn’t feel any of it, or let it affect him. “I embrace it,” said the 6-foot-3, 15-year-old from the Upper West Side with the silky jump shot and eye-popping leaping ability. “In his mind, [it’s not] ‘I want to play in the NBA,’ it’s, ‘I’m going to play in the NBA,’ ” his mother, Crystal McCrary, said. “You can’t tell him he’s not.”
