ORLANDO– If you were a fan of the NBA in the early 1990s or have read up on the league’s history, you will probably have some knowledge about the New York Knicks teams from the early 1990s. Patrick Ewing was the face and leader of that franchise. With Pat Riley at the helm, their brazenness and bruteness often took down their opponents.
Their M.O. was to play nasty. It was an effective strategy that saw them make deep runs in playoffs, including the 1994 NBA Finals.
Two young players were just beginning to join the league’s roster. One was Greg Anthony. Many were familiar with him from his years at UNLV when he won a national college championship. Hubert Davis, a 6-foot-5 point guard from the University of North Carolina, was the other. They were both Knicks first-round draft selections in 1991 and 1992.
Anthonys son Cole, now a Orlando Magic guard, was trying to figure out where he should play college basketball. His dad’s connection with Davis was a key factor. Davis, the UNC men’s basketball coach, was a former assistant to Roy Williams and a key voice on the recruiting trail.
Hubert Davis was actually the coach that recruited my. Cole Anthony said that he and Roy were the ones who recruited me. He and my dad have been close friends for a while. He is a great guy. He is just a wonderful man.
The 6-foot-3 scoring assassin committed to the Tar Heels over other schools he considered including Miami, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Miami, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame, and Notre Dame. Anthony believes UNC’s family-like environment helped UNC to win trust among the coaches.
Anthony was injured in his knee and missed 11 games. But, he had an outstanding freshman campaign before turning pro.
In his first college game, he had 34 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and a win at The Dean E. Smith Center against Notre Dame. He would go on score 20+ points nine times in that same year in 22 games. It was a disappointing season for UNC, however, with a record of 14-19. This was Williams’ only losing season in 18 years as UNCs Head Coach. Their last game was played on March 11, when sports in America were frozen due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthony still remembers Chapel Hill fondly and continues to check in with Davis to see how the school is doing on the hardwood. Even though it is difficult for him to watch games due to his commitment to the Magic team, he ensures that he stays connected to the program through social networking.
Although I haven’t seen too many college games this season, he said that he is a UNC fan. I have kept up to date with every single one of their games. I keep up to date with them on their Instagram. They have rapid reactions after every game. I’ve read every single rapid response after every game to see how everyones doing. My boy Mando (Armando bacot) has been ballin. Shout out to coach Davis, theyve been very solid so far.
Joe Lunardi, ESPN bracketologist, currently ranks UNC at No. They are currently ranked as the No. 10 seed in NCAA Tournament. However, with so much of the season remaining, and with UNC playing some of their best basketball lately, it is very possible that they will rise in the rankings and land a higher seed come March.
Many of UNC’s most prominent players went on the become NBA stars, including Antawn jamison, Rasheed, Wallace, Vince Carter and Michael Jordan. Anthony has a special fondness for Sean May, who is an assistant coach at UNC. He was also a member UNC’s 2005 national title winning team.
The school has enjoyed a lot of basketball success, winning six national titles on the men’s side and one on women’s side.