NBA Draft Prospect Review: Anthony Black
Arkansas’s surprising run from 10th in the SEC to Sweet 16 was in many ways a result of Anthony Black’s increased role.
Credit: Steve Robers/USA Today Sports
In any regular year, Arkansas basketball would’ve found themselves at a crossroads after the onslaught of Nick Smith Jr. injuries. This was a player that was projected in the top five of this summer’s draft. Looking at their place in the SEC standings - 10th, behind non-tournament teams such as Vanderbilt, Florida, and Mississippi State - it would be fair to assume that they didn’t get much help. Fast forward to today, and the Razorbacks have accomplished what few eight-seeds have accomplished: beating a number one seed and defending champion in the same game during March Madness. The face of this success was not Smith. It was Anthony Black.
Standing at 6’7, 198 lbs, the freshman guard from Texas led Arkansas in assists and steals per game, and was second in points per game. Surprisingly, Black has shown that he can run the show without Smith in the picture; directing the offense with great passing vision and ball-handling during Smith’s absences. This surprises many because Anthony’s mixtapes from high school would suggest that he would be a 3-point specialist and explosive dunker in college. This goes beyond showcasing his silky-smooth jumper and ferocious slams in compilations and highlights.
Black may have the ideal NBA frame for the future; he’s agile for a tall guard, using skill and shooting rather than downhill speed and athleticism. Just look around the NBA and you’ll see young comparisons: Giddey, Cunningham, LaMelo, Luka.
Offensively, the first thing you’ll notice about Black is his explosiveness, especially moving downhill. Sometimes, he is so explosive that he looks out of control, but when a 6'7” player is moving at those speeds, it is not surprising to see them snowball into a flailing, uncontrollable concentration of mass. NBA trainers will be able to fine-tune this.
In the paint, Black’s gather is strong, allowing him more opportunities for elite verticality and foul-drawing. It is apparent that he could be a very dangerous post guard. Bigger NBA guards who can pass are starting to post up more and operate from the block (i.e. Luka). This opens up the top of the key area as well as the paint itself, and I can see an NBA team running plays for Black in which he starts on the block with his back turned to the basket. He can outsize other guards, out jump other guards, be simply too strong for other guards, or just use his great vision to create looks for his teammates. Additionally, he has a very deceiving pump fake in his arsenal.
Black doesn’t move constantly off-ball, but he does cut at the right time. He also sets a nice amount of screens, which is a very good sign for a big guard. It does seem, however, that he sometimes gets lost in the flow of the offense, unsure of where to go and what to do. A good reason for this is his teammates at Arkansas; it’s hard to balance a three-headed scoring dragon of Black, Nick Smith Jr. and Ricky Council IV.
His jumper is consistent, but not particularly ideal. He squats down slightly before releasing, using his lower body as power, which is a good thing. However, he releases very early, with a very low release point. This jump-shot is not ideal for contested threes, but if he can create space for jumpers, it won’t matter very much (he has showcased some side-step and step-back three pointers this season, just not at a high efficiency).
Black’s passing is what is making NBA scouts so excited. He has great playmaking ability in the half-court as well as the full-court. He doesn’t make spectacular passes, but he does make the right pass. He can skip it to the corner in pick-and-rolls, throw lobs, and he can find the man in the dunker’s spot with a nice high pass. He has a beautiful lob pass that is disguised as a floater, which has become essential for NBA Point Guards at this point.
Defensively, Black does not keep up with driving ball handlers very well. Sometimes it only takes one move for a driver to get past him, and he doesn’t recover very well once he’s lost that step. He falls asleep in transition on occasion, allowing break-starting outlet passes without getting back quickly enough. He plays almost no help defense at this point, and struggles to get around screens, so he can be a liability at times against two-man action.
If there’s one thing young players should emulate from Black’s defense, it should be his active feet. He is literally always on his toes, never still or flat-footed for a second. If his conditioning stays great, he should be able to do this for thirty minutes a night. He also has fantastic leaping ability and vision on defense, deflecting passes and challenging opponents by getting his hand on the ball by any means necessary. This mutually adds to his rebound proficiency.
Overall, Anthony Black is a high-level offensive threat with a sturdy defensive frame and great leaping ability. I believe his floor to be Cade Cunningham’s rookie season. I say this because there may be an adjustment period (that Cunningham experienced) necessary for Black to reach his potential. You may not see the production of Cade Cunningham in Black’s rookie season, likely because he will be drafted to a better team that asks less of him than the Pistons asked of Cunningham last season. I think Black will show surprising playmaking ability for his team (Cunningham averaged six assists per 36 minutes) as well as shooting decently from behind the line (Cunningham was an underwhelming 31 percent from deep). Overall, I think Black will have an all-around solid rookie season and go up from there barring any injury concerns in the future.
Black could pan out to be a modern Penny Hardaway.
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Black’s ceiling is Penny Hardaway. The multiple-time all-star was also 6’7, but could create with his athleticism at all three levels. He was a good rebounder for a guard (4.9 rebounds per game before the age of 30) and although he wasn’t known for his perimeter offense, he did shoot 31% on an uncharacteristically high (for that era) 4.5 attempts from deep in the 1996-97 season. With that reliance on athleticism comes injury risk, which plagued Hardaway’s career and ended up cutting short his prime. Hopefully, this doesn’t happen to Black, but there is always such risk for a player of his archetype. However, Black’s ceiling is clearly extremely high along with his positionless guard counterparts who will soon rule the league. Anthony Black should be chosen between picks five and ten.
