Detroit Pistons 2020 NBA Draft profile: North Carolina’s Cole Anthony

Cole Anthony’s strengths

There are a lot of skills that Anthony possesses that makes him a prospect many teams desire. To start off, Anthony is a pure athlete and is a very explosive player. This leads to him having the ability to get a quick first step on his defender and beat him to his spot or to the rim.

On the topic of getting to the rim, he’s a fearless driver and will drive at anyone no matter the size and get the bucket.

Additionally, Anthony is a good shooter both off the dribble and off the pass. Some college prospects may struggle with shooting when entering the NBA, so finding a prospect that can do this out of college is an attractive sight.

He’s also is good at making passes both in transition and while playing in the half-court offense. He also has very good ball-handling skills and can control the pace of the offense he is in.

Defensively, Anthony additionally possesses many traits that have helped build his draft stock. To start with, very good defensive quickness and is very difficult for players to get past him and make an impact on the game.

His quickness has turned him into a pesky defender, and as a result he’s averaging 1.4 steals per game. Despite North Carolina’s struggles this season, Anthony as consistently been a bright spot for them.

He also has defensive anticipation that can sometimes make him look like a prophet and predict what is going to happen before a play happens.

One strength that Anthony has that many point guards lack is his ability to get rebounds. As a point guard, being someone who can get rebounds consistently can help move the offense down the court quicker.