Cole Anthony, the son of former New York Knicks point guard Greg Anthony, made his collegiate debut with the #9 North Carolina Tarheels. Anthony, 6-foot-3 guard from New York City ranked as the second-best high school recruit in the country, set a UNC freshman scoring record with 34 points in his debut appearance in 76-65 victory over Notre Dame.
Although it’s only one game, but so far Anthony has lived up to the hype. Anthony led the UNC Tar Heels to a second-half comeback. He topped all scorers with 34 points and added 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal. He shot 50 percent from the floor including a 54.5 clip from three-point range, where he knocked down six treys.
With 34 points in his auspicious debut, Anthony eclipsed the previous UNC freshman record set by Rashad McCants in 2002.
Cole Anthony ( @The_ColeAnthony ) went crazy tonight 34 points 11 rebounds 5 assists to lead North Carolina over Notre Dame … He had 23 points in the second half pic.twitter.com/hN6mjQZwpM
— Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) November 7, 2019
“It’s cool, I’m going to not celebrate, but be happy about it a little bit tonight, give myself a little pat on the back,” said Anthony. “But we’ve got practice tomorrow. We’ve got to lock back in. We’ve got a game on Friday.”
North Carolina plays UNC-Wilmington for their next game.
“Cole Anthony carried us tonight,” said head coach Roy Williams. “That was pretty impressive, to say the least.”
The Tar Heels came into this season with the #9 ranking after losing four players to graduation or the NBA including Luke Maye, Coby White, Nassir Little, and Cam Johnson.
Cole “5-Star, Blue Chipper” Anthony
Call him whatever you want. Blue chipper or 5-Star, but Cole Anthony had been a top prospect since his sophomore year in high school in New York City. Anthony attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens. Molloy has been cranking out top talent for several decades dating back to the 1980s with future NBA stars Kenny Smith and Kenny Anderson.
Anthony transferred to hoops powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Virginia for his senior season. Despite being on a team stocked with other blue chip recruits, Anthony averaged a triple-double his senior season. He also led the team in scoring averaging 17.8 points per game.
Anthony continued his prominence by dominating the 2019 McDonald’s High School All-American game and winning the MVP.
ESPN ranked Anthony the #2 overall best recruit in America behind James Wiseman of Memphis. Anthony could have gone to any college in the NCAA but he selected North Carolina. Oregon, Notre Dame, and Georgetown recruited him heavily, but he headed to Chapel Hill to play for Roy Williams at UNC.
Chip Off the Old Greg
Cole Anthony is the son of Greg Anthony, former UNLV star and journeyman point guard in the NBA. Greg Anthony played 12 seasons with six different teams and started his career with the New York Knicks after they selected him with the 12th overall pick in the 1991 NBA Draft. Greg averaged 7 points per game in a backup roll.
During the 1995 NBA Expansion Draft, the Vancouver Grizzlies selected Greg Anthony with the second overall pick. In the inaugural season with the Grizzlies, Anthony started and averaged a career-high 14-points per game.
Cole Anthony as born in Portland, Oregon when his father played for the Portland Trail Blazers for a couple of seasons at the turn of the century. Cole’s mother, Crystal McCrary-McGuire, is a novelist, producer, and filmmaker.
