North Carolina basketball: Cole Anthony headlines loaded Tar Heels class

North Carolina shored up their backcourt and post play with a top 10 recruiting class that includes arguably the best player in the country, Cole Anthony.

North Carolina was a must-watch last season due to a combination of their frenetic pace and freshman sensation Coby White leading the Carolina Break with his spectacular afro.

Head coach Roy Williams enters 2019-2020 wishing to play just as fast next season, however, he needed to replace his starting backcourt because of White’s breakout year coupled with the graduation of Kenny Williams. Freshman wing Nassir Little also departed for the NBA Draft and senior forwards Luke May and Cameron Johnson departed because of graduation.

It should be noted that Coach Williams is not done recruiting for his 2019 class. A wing player is still desired and UNC is active in the Precious Achiuwa recruitment, the No. 14 player in the class of 2019 according to the 247Sports Composite Ranking. Achiuwa is hyper-athletic and would be an ideal fit for Carolina’s system. North Carolina is also still active in the graduate transfer market as well for wing players.

Rising sophomore Leaky Black and rising junior Garrison Brooks are the only returning players who are poised right now to make a significant impact on next year’s Tar Heels squad. Brooks is expected to be one of the frontcourt starters next season.

Now, let’s get to the incoming freshman class, which is led by Cole Anthony, son of NBA veteran Greg, and who many argue is the best overall player in the 2019 class. Anthony is joined by a fellow five-star and McDonald’s All-American Armando Bacot.

He is a strong 6’10” forward who will give coach Williams a more traditional post-player that the previous North Carolina teams missed. The Brooks and Bacot frontcourt has the potential to be an explosive duo. Speaking of explosive, combo guard Anthony Harris, a one-time Virginia Tech and top-70 player is coming to Chapel Hill as well. The freshman class is rounded out with Jeremiah Francis, a top-200 guard from Ohio.

North Carolina has the sixth highest-rated recruiting class according to the 247 Sports Composite Ranking. Below we will give a brief scouting report on the incoming freshman and discuss what this means for North Carolina. The number in parenthesis next to a player’s name is indicative of their class rank according to 247Sports.

Cole Anthony (3) – An unquestioned leader who has a blend of agility, explosiveness, and skill. A fiery competitor who competes tremendously on both ends of the floor. Anthony is a constant threat to attack the rim and has can pull-up from anywhere in the half-court. His perimeter shooting has continued to improve. He should be able to improve his decision-making in the Carolina system while running the famed transition attack. Anthony has the potential to be the best freshman in all of college basketball.

Armando Bacot (20) – An excellent post player that Roy Williams has craved for some time. Bacot is skilled on the block with great footwork and touch. He has shooting range up to 15-18 feet. Bacot is truly committed to basketball as he massively improved his physique and conditioning during his senior year in high school, and should only improve in a college program. Quick enough of a defender and also a strong rebounder. Should benefit from 1-on-1 matchups in the post.

Anthony Harris (67) – Electric player who has worked to become a knockdown shooter, finishing his last EYBL season shooting 43.8 percent from 3. A skilled scorer but will have to work on his playmaking if he is called upon to lead the offense in certain situations. An energetic defender but undersized at 180 lbs. Will need to commit to strength program to avoid being attacked for physical mismatches.

Jeremiah Francis (167) – Largely unknown due to injury history. Francis has missed the majority of his last two years of high school basketball. A physical point guard at 6’3″ and 190 pounds his health will determine his viability at the collegiate level. Has the potential to be an effective four-year player for the Tar Heels.

What the incoming class means for North Carolina in 2019-2020

Ideally, there will be no stylistic drop-off from the most recent Tar Heels to this upcoming squad. Anthony possesses the ability to be even better for North Carolina than White was, despite how incredible of a freshman season White had. Anthony has the rare potential to be the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and his likely lone season in Chapel Hill will provide a bevy of highlights.

I cannot stress enough how important it was for coach Williams to get Bacot to become a Tar Heel. Luke Maye was a terrific college player but he was undersized as a forward and did not have the ideal post gravity for Carolina’s offense. Bacot should be able to exploit mismatches in the post and finish constantly from the famed Carolina Break rim-runs. The Carolina system needs an exceptional guard and post player to thrive and the tandem of Anthony and Bacot could be one of the nation’s best heading into 2019-2020.

Harris will likely start the season coming off the bench as an electric bucket getter who will not allow the defense to ever get comfortable. An in-game backcourt of Anthony and Harris will place extreme pressure on opposing defenses since both players can attack the basket and shoot from deep. I will hold off on my potential analysis of Francis since he has to improve medically before he can actually play.

Being a fan of a program with a defined system allows for an expectation of what to expect from an execution standpoint. UNC fans know what a Roy Williams lead team should play like on offense and defense. The 2019-2020 North Carolina Tar Heels should once again be one of the national leaders in tempo with incoming freshman sensation Cole Anthony handling and leading the Carolina offensive attack. The Tar Heels will likely lack great depth, but their contributors coming off the bench should be able to provide stability when the play. Carolina is poised to be a preseason top-15 team with the potential to make another deep run come March.