Net Rating: +7 net rating: only player on UNC with 95+ minutes player with a positive net rating

Athleticism / Frame Overview: Good and strong athlete. Quick feet laterally, fast in a straight line, and very quick reaction times. Love his hip turns – very fluid here. Quick hands. Has solid burst (first step), but not great – some nice flashes from a standstill / going downhill, but it’s not consistent.

Mentality Overview: Competitor on both ends of the court and a real “pros pro” – insanely hard work ethic. Someone who brings it every game on both ends – don’t need to worry about taking nights off. Puts pressure on opposing defenses with his engine-style game and gets into players on defense. He flashes the ability to really try and get back in the play if playing from behind on a play, but I would like to see a more consistent effort – doesn’t always try to get back if he thinks he’s dead in the water / if he has teammates looking to help.

Offensive Role: Offensive engine. He’s someone who will always put pressure on the opposing defenses with his aggressiveness on offense. Not a great passer, but is better than he showed at UNC – lack of spacing and shooters really hurt him here (although he also did miss a good amount of passing lanes on drives). Needs to clean up shot selection a bit both on jumpers and drives into the paint – see passing lanes better, maybe “Nash” the paint a bit more, and stop taking some inefficient jumpers (though UNC’s offense essentially enabled him to do whatever he wanted to on offense). Good shooter on and off ball going back to his HS tape. Not a great movement shooter, but he has shown that ability – this will allow him to play with other primary creators on offense.

Defensive Role: Point of attack defender (if he cleans up PnR defense a bit), probably only a 1 position defender due to size limitations. High level team defender / weakside rim protector. Might be able to defend some smaller 2s, but not normal sized 2s. I actually buy Anthony being a positive defender going forward on and off ball. Not a lockdown, but a good+ defender. Love his quickness and competitiveness when he’s locked in, though needs to stay consistent here (can bow out of plays if he’s beaten, though he shown solid recoveries when he wants to) and improve his footwork / technique at point of attack in PnR – instead of sliding, he crosses feet from time to time and turns body into the screen instead of beating over the top or sliding (both of which he can do, as he’s shown he can). He is prone to losing his man off screens and zoning out a bit, but he makes some really awesome rotations both on the perimeter and at the rim – had some of the best rim protection rotations I’ve seen from any G prospect in this year’s class.

Offense:

Synergy Profile: scoring : 37 scoring + assists : 34 (totals if percentile not available)

Jump Shots C&S Off Screen Around Basket Dribble J PnR Score PnR Pass Iso 77th %ile 77th %ile 89%ile 2nd %ile 85th %ile 33rd %ile 25 %ile 61st %ile

Shot Chart in HC:

Finishing: Finishing hasn’t been good in college, but I think it will be solid based on his HS/AAU film where he had the vertical pop and strength to finish through opposing rim protectors. Cole was only 8/27 in the HC (excluding postups and putbacks on the offensive glass), which is bad…and only 5/19 out of isolation and PnR. However, the numbers are a bit misleading. While he didn’t finish well in the paint, and missed passing lanes, it wasn’t entirely his fault – UNC’s spacing has been very poor all year long, shooting 29.4% from 3 on the year. When you add the complete lack of spacing to UNC playing with 2 true bigs, it leads to very crowded paints and driving lanes. Further compounding the problem was being on the short end of some would be fouls / calls that should have been made…which makes his 4.6 fouls drawn per game and .368 FTr look nice, even if the .368 isn’t great on its own (46 fouls drawn in 10 logged games on Synergy).

Crowded paints similar to the pictures below were pretty common at UNC, making it increasingly difficult to get any clean (or semi clean) opportunity. The reason I’m high on the finishing ability going forward is because of vertical pop and strength he has in the paint, ability to not get pushed off spot by defenders (dislodging some), and his solid (though not great) touch. He shows the ability to drive and finish with either hand going back to HS/AAU (though is R dominant) using pretty nice craft – use the inside hand if the defender is going outside, outside when defender is coming from inside, and finish through contact a bit. Had a few nice body control attempts with mixed results. With added spacing in the NBA, the driving lane will be cleaner with a less crowded paint. He’ll have to stop forcing a few attempts at the rim by seeing passing lanes a bit better, but in terms of his actual finishing ability, the numbers in college are a bit deceiving due to the complete lack of spacing UNC has. Prone to getting a bit out of control on drives – mainly charges and offensive fouls (off arm, a few body bumps that wouldn’t be called in NBA). Prone to pre-determining when he’s going to drive, which leads to forced looks and missed open passes.

Clogged paint examples:

Shooting: Good+ shooter both on and off ball, but needs to work on shot selection…which makes it even more impressive he was in the 77th percentile on HC jumpers, 58.3 eFG%. He didn’t get to show much movement shooting due to his role as the (only) engine (and good perimeter player/playmaker) on UNC, but he definitely has that ability – he’s not exclusively an on-ball player. Very good footwork off bounce and on the move – stays balanced, gets squared up nicely and quickly, and has a compact shooting form that he is able to get off quickly but comfortably and with rhythm. Smooth transition going from handle / dribble moves into jumpers on pull up Js. Loves stepback jumpers and shows ability to get into pull up Js from deep and midrange – comfortable in-between game, and has potential to be a nice PnR scorer because defenses won’t be able to go under without potentially being burned or go over without having the big come up because he can hit the midrange J or get to the rim.

Shot Versatility: Versatile shooter, both on and off ball. Good scorer off the bounce off a variety of dribble moves, can shoot pull up Js going downhill (good PUJ shooter out of PnR), and defenses can’t just back off him from 3 daring him to shoot. Off ball, he’s a good movement shooter who flashed ability to shoot off screens and was good in C&S opportunities (though smaller sample size, he did hit 38% of his 180 attempts in EYBL before college and 89% of his 195 FTs, which is great for his projection going forward – reason to buy shooting). If defenses close on him, he does a nice job beating the close and attacking the paint…which is very good if / when the vision (and floor spacing) opens up more, giving better driving and passing lanes. His shooting in college (so far) has been good in terms of percentages and variety:

Shot IQ: Does not have great shot IQ. Settles for lower efficient shots like stepbacks (though he can hit it) and settles for too many jumpers…but on the flip side, when he does drive, some of those looks (and drives) are forced – including missing open teammates. UNC’s spacing is atrocious (29% shooting from 3 excluding Cole), which can at least partially explain why 77% of his shots in the HC are jumpers, but even so, some of those looks are early and not efficient. Would like to see him turn away some of the jumpers he takes and survey the floor a bit more, for lanes to attack (if there are any) and simply better looks too teammates.

Handle: Pretty advanced handle with a nice repertoire and either hand. Has crosses, hesitations, in-and-outs, does a nice job planting off outside foot on crosses (including through legs cross) and driving, and piecing together multiple dribble moves pretty seamlessly. Nice footwork and balance as he’s piecing together moves. Generally speaking, he does a good job keeping the ball low and does a good job keeping the ball under control, even as he’s putting multiple moves together (though handle can get a bit away from him from time to time while putting multiple moves together / splitting PnR). Comfortable driving with either hand. Nice change of speed, good job planting and powering off planted foot to explode, and good change of direction. Ball can get away from him when he’s driving in to traffic – would like to see him be stronger with the ball and more selective with some drives due to defenders’ quick hands (…and pull back when he shouldn’t attack). Prone to pre-determining when he’s going to drive, which leads to not reacting to the defense à turnovers.

Passing: Not a very good passer, though better than what he’s shown at UNC. Makes basic reads (drop-offs, swings, some kickouts), but not a preternatural passer / makes plays for others before they happen. He sees and then passes, nothing advanced (for the most part, just passing to the open teammates). As with finishing, clogged lanes and lack of spacing make it difficult to see some passing lanes, though he’s still missing wide open looks that he should be making . The pre-determining when he’s going to attack / that he’s going to make a move leads itself here, too à he misses open passes he should be making. Not a fan of his general passing touch – has some odd turnovers because the pass is (way) too high. Not a a great decision-maker in the HC, as he forces looks that aren’t really there, or are in a crowded area (extra spacing in NBA could help get some of these through, but others are just non-looks). Looks like he’s sometimes playing as if he’s in either scoring mode or facilitating mode – like, he knows what he wants to do before, instead of reading and reacting. Pretty good decisionmaker in transition.

Assist Chart:

Defense:

Synergy Profile (I know there is a lot of noise here, but this is just added information): 27

Spot Up PnR Score Around Basket Dribble J C&S Iso (total) 5th %ile 89th %ile 36th %ile 97th %ile 17th %ile 1/5

Defensive Shot Chart (A lot of noise, but interesting. Paint = as primary and secondary defender.

Awareness / Team Defense: Great awareness and plays good team defense in general. Does an awesome job rotating underneath to protect the rim weak side (had some of the best rim protection plays from anyone this year, in my opinion, regardless of position) – great timing and IQ. Does a nice job keeping eyes on his man and on the action when he’s off ball (head usually on swivel)…though he is prone to zoning out a bit off when he’s defending his man off screens. Does the things that can go unnoticed like dig off ball, keep hands in passing lanes on cutters, stunting on cutters, etc. Can sometimes overhelp (for example, sinking into the paint too much) and is then forced to scramble back to his man.

Rim Protection: As I just mentioned, he’s an awesome rim protector for a guard. As a primary and secondary defender, opponents shoot 39% when he is defending (7/18) and has had some of the best rotations / weakside blocks out of any player in the country, regardless of position. As a primary defender, he also does a great job protecting the rim for his size / when he’s sliding with the defender. Slides well when playing on hip of driver, but would like to see more consistent effort in getting back into the play when playing from behind (though does show flashes). When he’s trying to protect from behind (caught in a screen in PnR is the most common error with him), his effort wanes here…still some flashes, but not consistent at all – would like to see him hustle back a bit more, because he has the speed to recover and pop + timing to protect.

PnR Defense: Needs some work here. Has the quickness to stay with most players and the strength to body them a bit, but footwork has to be cleaned up…and he needs to show more effort getting over the screen. Instead of sliding or trying to beat the screen over the top, he’s often turns his body (leading to being hit by the screen) – needs to fix this. He can get jumpy before the pick comes and often gets caught by the screen if he goes over (which doesn’t happen often). Flashes ability to get back in the play from behind (including some really high-level rim protections), but need to see a more consistent effort, as sometimes he lags behind if he thinks he’s dead in the water or sees help coming and thinks he’s in the clear. Would like to see him get over screens better and more often instead of going under most of them and then having to get back to the shooter…which is obviously dependent on who is handling, but he prefers going under and recovering regardless of who has the ball, which then means he’ll have to close out on a live dribble, when then opens up driving lanes (and running into his own man, which happened to him on occasion this year). To sum that up, stop going under ever screen and use quickness and strength to get over top a bit more because if he goes under screens as often as he does now in the NBA, he’ll get burned a lot. Would also like to see cleaner / more effort getting out to the ballhandler after going under the screen, though he has shown the ability to do it on occasion à just need it to be more consistent.

Shot Contests / Closeouts: Inconsistent here. Can be pretty quick to closeouts and contesting the shot when he wants to be, but other times he’ll just half-ass the closeout / contest. The effort closes are really nice, though – makes me think this can be improved (although the results on 3PT% can vary regardless of a good close). Shows ability to dig / tag roll or cutter and then get out to the perimeter, even if it’s not his man – can rotate to the open perimeter player. Prone to closing out only prepping for a shot, meaning he’s not always close out ready to move on a dribble / catch and drive and ends up giving up a lane to attack.

Off Ball Defense: I already touched on his rim protection below, and it’s very good for a G, especially for a freshman guard – good team defender here. In addition, he rotates well on the perimeter to the open player when needed – something I’ve noticed is he appears to do a good job reading the eyes of the man with the ball, making it slightly easier to figure out where he’s passing and where he should rotate (if he’s not there already / is playing in between two players). However, defending his man off screen is a mixed bag, as he’s prone to losing his man off screens or movement (especially when trying to help on the main action).

Man Defense: Pesky defender who has quick feet, hands, and reacts quickly to moves. If he’s beaten off the bounce, he doesn’t always close out the play…which is annoying, and something he should fix (can fix) pretty easily – seems more of an effort thing, than anything else. Same with making an initial stop – he has to learn how to consistently finish out the play, because he can make 1-2 nice slides to stop the initial iso / drive attempt, and then relax for half a second and give up a clean look. Can be beaten off the bounce if he sits on his heels – needs to stay active in his stance, because when he is, he moves well laterally and does a good job using his strength to body guys just enough to keep them uncomfortable. Really love how quickly he can turn his hips (and get downhill, when he wants to) – he can do a really nice job sliding with the ballhandler.

Footwork: Definitely room to improve here. When he’s in his stance, he does a nice job moving laterally, stopping and going, etc…but is still prone to crossing his feet. In PnR, as stated above, instead of trying to beat the screen over the top and sliding, he’ll turn his body and cross his feet in an attempt to get over, which opens him up to the screen making it easier to get hit by it. He flashes the ability and willingness to have proper footwork, but it has to get drilled in.

Written by Spencer Pearlman, https://twitter.com/SKPearlman, link to other pieces and in-depth reports: https://www.thestepien.com/author/spencerpearlman/