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North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said in an interview with Evan Daniels of 247Sports that he expects freshman Cole Anthony will enter the 2020 NBA Draft.
Anthony was a top-three player out of high school and is considered to be a first-round pick in the draft. In 22 games with the Tar Heels, Anthony averaged 18.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, four assists and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting 40.2% from the field.
As a highly-touted prospect out of high school, Anthony had an up-and-down freshman campaign with the Tar Heels. He suffered an injury that cost him some time and the Tar Heels vastly underperformed, which didn’t help his draft stock.
Williams still believes Anthony will declare for the draft.
“I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that Cole will be leaving but I do it every year,” Williams told 247Sports. “Last year we had Coby [White], Nassir [Little], Cam [Johnson] were all in the first round and then Luke [Maye] and Kenny [Williams] played in the G League so we had five guys, two of them were freshmen. We sent out the undergraduate evaluation form on four people and of those four only one left so I do that all the time.”
While Williams believes Anthony will eventually enter the NBA Draft, Anthony wrote on Instagram that he is delaying his announcement due to the coronavirus pandemic, saying such a statement would be insensitive at this time.
“A lot of people have been asking me if I’m going to declare for the NBA draft,” Anthony said. “Anyone who knows me understands that playing in the NBA has been a lifelong dream of mine, but given the pain that America and the world are experiencing at this time, I am going to refrain from making any announcements about that topic.”
Anthony, the son of former 11-year NBA veteran Greg Anthony, is projected to be selected 15th in the latest 2020 Rookie Wire Mock Draft.
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