VA Gatorade POTY Candidate: Cole Anthony
Taking a note from fellow contributor Adam Ayalew’s “All-Met Candidate” series, we’re going to take a look at 11 guys across the state of Virginia who should compete for the coveted Gatorade State Player of the Year. While taking everything into consideration, we’re going to be looking at three categories in particular: individual production, team performance and the competition level that the programs play. We will release each candidate in alphabetical order over the next few weeks.
To get it started, we look at Oak Hill senior Cole Anthony, the NY native who is the top rated point guard in the country.
PRODUCTION
Not only is Anthony rated so highly based on his athleticism, feel, IQ and skill set, he’s also one of the most productive point guards I’ve ever seen in my life. On both ends of the floor Anthony dominates the game, and with the talent around him he’ll be able to get a lot of isolation situations and he’ll be able to find shooters with ease. In his second scrimmage with Oak Hill against national prep powerhouse Massanutten, Anthony finished with a near triple-double of 26 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds and three steals. While I don’t think he’ll put up those numbers every night, it shows that he’s capable of stuffing the stat sheet and can almost make plays at will.
PERFORMANCE
What may give Anthony the edge in this race for POTY is that Oak Hill’s success as a national program is second to none, and this year their success will hinge largely on how dominant he can be. He doesn’t need to score 30 points per game, but he’ll have to control the tempo, set the tone and he has to bring it every night so others will follow. It looks like he’s up to the task, and if Oak Hill is going to compete for a national title it’s going to be on Anthony’s shoulders this year.
COMPETITION
There is no schedule in the state, maybe even the country, that has the strength of Oak Hill’s. Year in and year out they don’t worry about local talent or anything, they travel across the country to some of the toughest events and play some of the best teams across the USA. On top of that they play more games than college teams do. There’s a reason Oak Hill isn’t a part of any conference or division in any of the Virginia High School leagues, and that’s because their eyes are set on something much bigger.