The\nMcDonald\u2019s All-American Game, featuring the top prep stars of the future, took\nplace on Wednesday with the East squad getting the win over the West 115-100.\nSeveral big name recruits (Matthew Hurt, Precious Achiuwa and Jaden McDaniels)\nhave yet to make their college decision. Perhaps the biggest question mark\nsurrounds Cole Anthony, the #2 recruit in the nation and top-ranked point\nguard, who is down to 6 schools \u2013 North Carolina, Miami, Notre Dame, Wake\nForest, Oregon and Georgetown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anthony,\nthe son of former NBA guard and current analyst Greg Anthony, is going to be a\npivotal asset for any of the remaining schools. Cole\u2019s game is mature, polished\nand versatile. He does not get sped up very often, nor is he forced into many\nmistakes. Great touch at the rim and deep range, Anthony is the kind of floor\ngeneral that instantly makes everyone on the floor better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Shedding light on his recruitment, during an in-game interview, Anthony listed his schools while seemingly eliminating Miami. Detailing what he was looking for most in a school, surrounding talent and the chance to reach the Final Four as a freshman were top priorities. The likely Day 1 starter at any school, let\u2019s dive into what talent Anthony can expect to have next season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1.\nWake Forest: The Demon Deacons we\u2019re missing a true playmaker on offense last\nyear and could desperately use a player of Anthony\u2019s caliber. Danny Manning\u2019s\nteam had serviceable wing players in Chaundee Brown (11.9 PPG), Brandon\nChildress (14.7 PPG) and Jaylen Hoard (13.1 PPG), but no bonafide game\nchanger. Hoard is the best pro prospect\non the roster, but I would be surprised to see him leave this year. There is a\ngeneral lack of talent on this roster that would justify Anthony\u2019s commit. The\nonly reason to sign here, aside from Wake\u2019s history of producing talented pro\nguards (i.e., CP3 and Muggsy Bogues), is the commitment of Anthony\u2019s AAU\nteammate Ismael Massoud. \u2014 Probability 2% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2.\nNotre Dame: Believe it or not, but the Fighting Irish had a worse season than\nWake Forest. A season-ending injury to sharpshooter and captain Rex Pflueger\ndealt a huge blow to the team early in the year. Unable to have numerous\nplayers step up and fill the void, Notre Dame leaned heavily on big man John\nMooney (14.1 PPG, 11.2 RPG). Fortunately there is only expected to be 1 loss in\nthe offseason, as Plueger is likely to receive a medical redshirt. Anthony would\nbe surrounded by numerous three-point shooters in South Bend and a talented\npost player in Mooney. However, I think he can find a better home. \u2014\nProbability 3% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
3.\nGeorgetown: The Hoyas have one of the most talented backcourts in the Big East,\nafter the freshman duo of James Akinjo (13.4 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Mac McClung\n(13.1 PPG) burst onto the scene. Former NBA great Patrick Ewing coached his\nalma mater to a solid season and 3rd place conference finish. Ewing\u2019s team is\nlosing a lot of experienced frontcourt depth next year and is reloading with\ntalented and long bigs. NC State transfer Omer Yurtseven (13.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG)\nwill also be available after sitting out a year. The main question for Anthony\nat Georgetown is the perception of playing time with Akinjo and McClung already\ndominating the majority of backcourt time. Anthony would be the de facto\nstarter, but does his presence cause the transfer of either guard and hinder\nthe immediate talent he mentioned in his interview? Neither Akinjo nor McClung\nneed the ball in their hands every play to make a difference. It could work. \u2014\nProbability 20% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4.\nNorth Carolina – The Tar Heels we\u2019re bounced in the Sweet 16 after being named\none of the top 4 seeds in college basketball. Freshman point guard Coby White\nwas the main reason Carolina had so much success. White displayed a full skill\nset as the freshman floor general showed incredible poise, blazing speed and a\nlethal outside shot on his way to multiple 30-point games. The young playmaker\nhas done well enough in his lone college season that he is a virtual lock to be\na top-5 player in this year\u2019s NBA draft. Roy Williams is losing valuable senior\nplayers Luke Maye (14.9 PPG, 10.6 RPG), Kenny Williams (8.5 PPG) and Cameron\nJohnson (16.9 PPG). The Heels have little trouble bringing in star recruits,\nsuch as 5-star center Armando Bacot. However, Anthony\u2019s decision to lace his\nsneakers in Chapel Hill will come down to Coby White\u2019s immediate NBA\naspirations and fellow recruit Matthew Hurt. Hurt is the prototypical stretch 4\nin the modern game. The Minnesota native has the most college offers and would\nmake a very valuable asset for Anthony on the court. If Coby White chooses to\nstay, he would likely play off the ball as the 2-guard in more of a scoring\nrole and in my opinion would not hinder Anthony\u2019s chance at playing time. \u2014\nProbability 35% <\/p>\n\n\n\n
5.\nOregon: The Ducks were also bounced in the Sweet 16 after giving Virginia all\nthey could handle. Dana Altman\u2019s squad won 10 games in a row prior to that loss\nand was far from a lock to get into the tournament had they not gotten hot. It\nwas an impressive season in Eugene, despite the loss of likely NBA lottery pick\nBol Bol to an early season ending injury. The Ducks looked lost without him\nuntil the middle of conference play. The late season successes will carry over\nto next year, as there will be little to no attrition of this year\u2019s roster.\nAltman has already inked an impressive recruiting class led by 5-star power\nforward CJ Walker. The Ducks are also in the mix for 5-Star scoring machine\nCassius Stanley. Adding the duo of Anthony and Stanley to backcourt-mate Payton\nPritchard would give Oregon one of the most dynamic groups in the nation.\nInterior defender Kenny Wooten would only be a junior and gives the Ducks a balanced\nroster. The talent and chance at a Final Four Trip would be undeniable. \u2014\nProbability 40%<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The McDonald\u2019s All-American Game, featuring the top prep stars of the future, took place on Wednesday with the East squad getting the win over the West 115-100. Several big name recruits (Matthew Hurt, Precious Achiuwa and Jaden McDaniels) have yet to make their college decision. Perhaps the biggest question mark surrounds Cole Anthony, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[8],"tags":[23,27,26,24,25,15],"yoast_head":"\n