Profile Draft 2023 – Anthony Black: a tuft of hair with a defensive profile

Another guard 2 meters high, that’s a lot there, isn’t it? But this one, you can see it from afar with his signature cut that he plagiarized from Tahiti Bob. Coming out of an Arkansas program that has been sending NBA players on the ball for a few seasons, Anthony Black stands out for his defensive versatility. But despite his League-ready mindset, there’s still some work to be done to get the big playmaker up and running.

SON PROFILE BIG WAY

• Age: 19born on a day when Hey Ya! by OutKast was number one on the charts.
• Poste : Combo guard to post notes 1
• Team: Arkansas Razorbacksbrown pigs in French.
• Height: 201 centimeters by removing the bonus double decimetre from veuchs
• Weight: 90 kg like Kevin Huerter
• Wingspan: 202 centimeters
• Statistics 2022-23: 12.8 pts, 5.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals average (34.8 minutes over 36 games)
• Comparison : Josh Giddey in the ceiling, and Dyson Daniels in the near floor? Long live the kangaroos.
• TrashTalk forecast: 8th position

HIS JOURNEY

Anthony David Black was born on January 20, 2004 in Las Colinas, Texas. He grew up in this state, surrounded by athletic parents. The two met in college when one played basketball and the other football, a true love story straight out of a romantic comedy produced by Netflix. The little guy takes the same route as his father and starts basketball at his side quite early. He began his high school years in the town of Coppell and then joined Duncanville High School for his final season. Because of eligibility problem, AB will play few games but will be devilishly effective with 13 points, 4 assists and 2 steals on average. He is therefore invited to the 2022 off-season at the Mc Donald’s All-American Game and the Nike Hoop Summit. He will also win the U18 Americas Championship that summer.

Comes the time of the university and Anthony Black goes from Texas to join that of Arkansas. It’s been a few years since the Razorbacks began to create a real reputation as a formative university and hold a real rank in the face of the country’s historical programs. Mason Jones, Moses Moody and now a trio of talented freshmen led by Eric Musselman, former coach of the Warriors and Kings in the 2000s. After a mediocre regular season where Arkansas finished tenth in the SEC, the bushy point guard and his teammates are eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Conference Playoffs. As an individual, he was elected by the coaches to the All-SEC Second Team and to the All-Freshman Team for the 2022-23 season. During March Madness, the Razorbacks create the surprise by eliminating Kansas, the defending champion, in the second round. They would lose in the Round of 16 to eventual NCAA Tournament winner UConn. AB will declare that he is going to the 2023 Draft in the wake of this loss.

ITS STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Anthony Black’s strongest point is his defense. That’s it that’s all. His size and his well-built NBA physique make him very versatile on this part of the court. He can defend on any exterior of the opposing team, although in the League he will be more comfortable on the backs and wingers. His mobility coupled with his ability to protect the circle. Off the racket, he is still sometimes naive in his choices but his game intelligence will develop at the same time as his experience in the NBA. But he still remains active on dribbling and passing, the 2.1 average interceptions speaks volumes.

In attack, Anthony Black is known for his ability to organize the game which he was able to demonstrate throughout the season. Despite poor spacing from his teammates, he managed to develop play on pick-and-roll and on simple systems to allow his team to score easily. His quality of passing is good, with almost 4 assists on average, the latter could increase in the NBA with a better organized team on the half of the field. AB’s playmaking is excellent and will catch the eye of many teams during individual workouts. Even the fans ask for it in their franchise, so his reading of the game slaps.

Anthony Black is the perfect point guard for the spurs look at some of these reads man pic.twitter.com/rSwwaaFSHT

— ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? (@spurssexuality) May 26, 2023

Anthony Black’s biggest problem, the one that raises the most doubt among NBA franchises… is his effectiveness on offense. A leader must know how to take care of the ball, put the game down, make sure it ends up in the basket in the best possible way. But with the bushy in position 1, there is more chance that the orange ball will end up in the opponent’s basket than in his own.. With an average of 3 lost balls per match, including half a dozen matches with 5 or 6 turnovers, we can see that ball control is a significant aspect of his game to develop. Because if it’s 3 in the NCAA, will that number double in the NBA? This is very likely.

Also, what’s sad to note given his size and NBA-ready physique is that he doesn’t exploit it enough on offense. In terms of finishing, he can’t convert his shots near the circle despite his strong aggressiveness near the circle. But the hardest part is using his outside shot. He must become a real threat out of pick-and-roll. It’s not very natural for him but he is still effective, he has to gain confidence to become unpredictable. Finally, the lack of 3-point shooting will be another hiccup in the NBA. Arkansas game makes little use of the parking lot shotit is one of the 10 Division 1 colleges that take the least… but it looks like AB is working on it while waiting for the Draft.

Anthony Black back in Duncanville working on his 3 ball ???? pic.twitter.com/LgHoNLUnxl

— Will Whitson (@will_whitson2) June 2, 2023

SO IF WE SUMMARIZE…

Points forts :

• Defense
• Playmaking
• Versatility

Weak points :

• Finishing
• 3-point shot
• Lost bullets

WHAT DOES IT SAY IN THE MOCK DRAFTS?

The very defensive profile of Anthony Black will convince many franchises during his workouts. On the offensive aspect, there is still work to do but if he is well surrounded, the point guard will be able to gain in efficiency quickly during training camp and the regular season. See you next June 22 to see where this modern new guard will land.