If you are reading this, it’s already too late. You know who Greg Anthony is, and if for some reason you don’t, just look up at his No. 50 jersey hanging from the rafters of the Thomas & Mack Center. As a UNLV star and future NBA guard, Greg was the heartbeat of the magical 1990 NCAA National Championship season for the Runnin’ Rebels, so it’s no shock his son, Cole Anthony, is undoubtedly a “Top 5” prospect in the 2019 recruiting class.
What is a shock, though, is that UNLV allegedly never even made an offer for the young talent. Given his father’s ties with the program, and the high-level recruits UNLV has recently landed (and their almost constant need for guards), that news was almost unbelievable…but is it really?
Cole Anthony, currently, is rated the No. 1 combo-guard in the nation and is entertaining offers from big-name schools such as Duke, Oregon, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, and at least 12 others it’s almost useless naming.
“Now I just play vicariously though him,” said his father, who seems to believe his son has passed his own ceiling of talent. “He needs a little bit more competition than me.”
Playing his prep years at Archbishop Molloy in Queens, NY, maybe it is not so much a surprise that only a couple west coast programs would use their resources to travel out and scout the future lottery pick that has his choice in top-notch level coaches and schools, but that argument is not valid for our Runnin’ Rebs head honcho, Marvin Menzies.
Menzies just recruited a big man from Cameroon and that seems like more of a trip then it is to Queens, but who am I to say? Maybe it wasn’t for lack of resources as to why UNLV chose not to talk to the kid, but maybe it was because they knew they didn’t even have a shot. Just because his dad grew up here and played college ball, that doesn’t mean we’re a shoe-in for commitment anyways.
Hell, some are even saying he’s the best prospect out of New York since Stephon Marbury. Based on UNLV Basketball’s recent downturn, it’s not hard to believe he was the unicorn prospect the fading Rebels program could never win over against the Dukes of the world.
As everyone probably hates being reminded, we’re only one season removed from the worst fall-ball in school history. Plus, Greg went to the University of Portland initially after graduating from Rancho High School, and it’s not like anyone is too upset the Findlay Prep Pilots aren’t in on the phenomenal soon-to-be freshmen. Then, again, maybe Findlay Prep IS a good choice for the talented point guard.
But we are UNLV. We have won a national championship (thanks for the reminder, grandpa). We are begging to make the big splashes again. We crave the big dance. But it doesn’t mean we want to be stood-up by our best friend’s child on prom night, either. Maybe we thought it best to just assume we were not on the radar and didn’t want to bother and waste anyone’s time on a pipe-dream.
Besides, if you never ask in the first place, how can anyone tell you that you’ve been rejected and passed over? If we were still in the Dave Rice era, I’m completely convinced Stacey Augmon would’ve had something to say in the situation and, maybe, then we’d be mentioned with the likes of Duke, UCLA, and the Oregon’s of the world.
But then again, if this was the Rice era, would it even matter? In Menzies we trust, and there’s no doubt he knows better than us, the fans, but…imagine the possibilities with this legacy running the point. I know, he’s just the unattainable unicorn. Just make sure you watch your kidneys trying to find Cole at Candy Mountain.
