NBA Draft 2020: What Cole Anthony’s return did for his draft stock

(Post-injury) Defensive concerns

If feels like a cop-out to say this but it remains true that for a prospect that carries as big of an offensive load as Cole Anthony, simply competing on the defensive end is good enough. Fortunate for NBA scouts though, Anthony does more than compete, having impact defensive stats (3.3 steals per 100 possessions, 1.4% block percentage) this season. But for a prospect who is likely going to be a high-minute NBA player out of the gate, the pick-and-roll defense is always going to be under extreme scrutiny and Anthony had some trouble against the Eagles on Saturday, who got a lot of their guards on offense.

Anthony had some issues navigating screens and while he didn’t exactly hang his big men out to dry, he didn’t always put them in the most optimal position either. His average size already makes it hard for him to get contests on shots even when he is trailing hard from behind. Anthony appears to be 100% healthy as he pursued players hard around screens but didn’t display the flexibility to navigate them well.

Boston College had a guard (Jared Hamilton) who like Anthony, played high minutes (31) off the bench but unlike Anthony, had an efficient night. Hamilton scored 18 points on 50% shooting and their starting backcourt combined for 27 points on 39.1% shooting. Anthony committed three personal fouls but his physical defense never took away from his aggressiveness on offense.

Anthony ended the night with two steals and honestly put up as much of a fight as any of the Tar Heel guards.