Could Cole Anthony stay another year? Bet on Howell’s Heisman odds? Mailbag answers.
It’s been an interesting year for North Carolina basketball, which entered the 2019-20 season as one of the favorites to contend for the ACC title.
But after a string of injuries, including one to its best player, Cole Anthony, UNC may not even make the NCAA tournament this season.
The Tar Heels are currently 10-10, and will host Boston College on Saturday in Chapel Hill.
It seems that has guided your questions in this week’s mailbag. So I’m here to answer them.
On to your questions:
@Denise_Hull502 asks: If Cole doesn’t come back until much later than anticipated, what are the chances he stays for one more year?
JMA says: The chances of Cole Anthony returning for his sophomore year are slim to none, and closer to none. As nice as that would be for the Tar Heels, UNC recruited Anthony with the assumption that he was a one-and-done player.
They’ve also signed his potential replacement in the 2020 class in Caleb Love, another potential one-and-done player.
Anthony is a projected lottery pick, who before his injury, many NBA scouts were high on. As of Thursday, he was projected to go No. 9 overall in the 2020 NBA draft, according to NBAdraft.net. And that’s an opportunity you don’t pass up, especially when your dream is to get into the NBA.
There’s little advantage in returning another year except to increase his draft stock by a few spots, and even then, that may not happen. Injuries could also occur. The 2021 draft could be better. Who knows.
In 2019, 11 of the first 30 draft picks played only one season in college. It’s a continuation of a trend that will only increase.
Anthony said Monday that he wants to come back this year and help his team because he didn’t like how he left it.
“I want to play with these guys, again,” Anthony said. “I don’t like how I left the court with these dudes. I feel like I could give them a lot more than I did.”
But after this season, he’s almost guaranteed to enter the NBA draft.
@caitleg asks: when was the last time unc hoops needed to win the ACC championship outright in order to make the tournament and they were actually able to do it?
JMA says: It was probably in 1975. That year, UNC finished the regular season 18-7, and only 32 teams could get into the NCAA tournament field. In 1974, when there were only 25 teams in the field, UNC missed out on a bid after finishing the regular season 21-4.
In the 1975 ACC tournament, the Tar Heels won their first two games against Wake Forest and No. 18 Clemson in overtime, and beat No. 8 N.C. State in the championship game 70-66. They went on to lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
That was the only time I could find.
Since the NCAA expanded its tournament field to 64 teams in 1985, UNC has won the ACC tournament eight times. And in each of those times, its record was good enough to earn an NCAA tournament bid.
The last few times when UNC’s record was bad enough was in 2002, 2003 and 2010.
And in each of those seasons, UNC didn’t even come close to winning the ACC championship, losing either in the first or second rounds.
With an expanded ACC, it would be even tougher for UNC to accomplish that goal this year.
If the Tar Heels end up playing on the first day of the tournament, they would have to win five games in five days.
No ACC team has done that.
@JWJones252 do i put money on the 60/1 sam howell heisman odds or not?
JMA says: Look, I’m not much of a gambler, and I don’t tell anybody how to spend his or her money. So that decision is on you and you only.
I’ll say this, though. Howell, who will be entering his second season with the program, is poised to have another big year. All of the pieces are in place for him to succeed.
The UNC offense is returning 10 of its 11 offensive starters, as well as its top four wide receivers. However, it’s a long time between now and the regular season and anything can happen. Also, arguably the biggest factor in the Heisman winner is wins.
LSU’s Joe Burrow won the Heisman in 2019, because he had the best stats, but also because his team was the best in the country. The other finalists, Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Chase Young and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, played for teams in the College Football Playoff.
That would mean, in order for Howell to be a Heisman finalist, his team would have to be one of the top teams in the country in 2020, and would probably have to be good enough to earn a College Football Playoff Spot. I don’t think the Tar Heels are there yet.
They won seven games in 2019, and that would require a huge jump, including taking the mantle from Clemson, which has owned the ACC in recent years.
And the Tigers are returning their two best offensive players next season in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne, both of whom will likely be Heisman candidates.
But again, that’s your money. You decide what to do with it.
How to be a part of the #AskJMA mailbag
About once a month, I’ll answer readers’ questions as part of a Tar Heel mailbag.
If you have a question about UNC football, basketball or baseball, tweet me @jonmalexander with the hashtag #AskJMA, or email me at jalexander@newsobserver.com. A select few will be answered in the mailbag.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Could Cole Anthony stay another year? Bet on Howell’s Heisman odds? Mailbag answers.."
