The all-time Big East NBA mock draft

No. 3 overall pick in 2003

2002-03 Syracuse stats (Freshman): 22.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.6 steals per game (Won National Title)

When it comes to the NBA Draft, you’re doing a lot of projecting. Even if a player has a few skills that look NBA ready, often times it can take a few years to get to the point where the player can use it in a meaningful way. Usually, this relates to defense, as players like the Butlers and Hamilton even struggled for 1-2 years before taking hold as strong NBA defenders. But it can also occur on offense, as a player that seems to have potential as a number one scorer needs some time to really put it all together. We’ve seen that with players like Allen and Kemba Walker here.

Anthony is our number two prospect because he was the rare player that bypassed the learning curve. Anthony would have been a functional one-on-one scorer right out of high school, and proved that by averaging 22.2 points per game as a freshman and dragging a limited Syracuse offense to the heights of a national title. People compared Jayson Tatum to Anthony this past year, and frankly that’s an insult to Melo’s scoring chops. He was far more advanced as an off-the-dribble scorer, passer, and ball-handler than perhaps any college wing we’ve seen since. He had the strength to duck down into the post and compete with bigger defenders, he could blow by two-guards with his first step, and his shooting motion, which is only eclipsed by Allen in this group, allowed him to pull-up on a dime and hit from anywhere. Melo wasn’t the most efficient player, but part of that was the volume he carried for Syracuse’s offense. In terms of draft equity, Anthony is likely the only player on the list who would come in as a guaranteed number one scorer for the team who drafted him. That’s what vaults him over Mourning and Allen, even though both ended up having better NBA careers.