Eight prospects to watch in the NBA Draft’s virtual combine

Cole Anthony

After a reasonably disappointing freshman year at North Carolina, Cole Anthony has a ton of skeptics, and most of them are NBA scouts.

Anthony, who’s a score-first point guard, didn’t lead UNC to any glory and struggled to create a concrete reason for a high draft pick. A year ago, Anthony was projected to be one of the higher picks in this year’s draft, but for obvious reasons, he couldn’t capitalize on any of the momentum he had. Anthony certainly isn’t a terrible player, he’s a superb scorer who can make an impact on the offensive end, perfect for a team that needs a quick and reliable guard.

But those question marks and his ability to lead UNC to wins, or lack thereof, could allow for some scouts to cross his name off their reports. His flashy and explosiveness playstyle could warrant some reason to select him, and the potential that was noted in high school is more than there for Anthony, it’s just a matter of proving the doubters wrong.

Sure, Anthony is a superb player on both ends of the court, and he’s been somewhat impressive in his freshman season. In terms of his playing ability, Anthony is flashy and shows solid potential. But in terms of his leadership as a guard, Anthony obviously has his issues. It’ll be worth watching Anthony during the scrimmage games, to see whether he can show up as a floor general, as well as an explosive scorer.

But maybe we’re being harsh since leadership is something that can be focused on during his rookie season. It’s a hard case to deal with, with questions looming whether his lack of leadership warrants a Top 10 pick or a lottery pick in that matter.

Anthony is a player that a lot of scouts and fans will have their eyes on, the NBA should be a proving ground for him.