By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK – Carmelo Anthony returned to the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon to have his No. 15 jersey retired when Georgetown visited Syracuse for the final time as Big East rivals.
The Hoyas may have ended the Orange’s 38-game home winning streak, 57-46, with Anthony in attendance, but the Knicks’ star came away impressed with what he saw, specifically out of Syracuse sophomore point guard Michael Carter-Williams and Georgetown sophomore small forward Otto Porter, who only added to the notion that he is the probable Big East Player of the Year after scoring a career-high 33 points to go along with eight rebounds and five steals
When asked what he thought about Porter’s NBA prospects, Anthony’s assessment was blunt.
“If he has a chance, if he’s a top 10 pick, I definitely think he should come out,” Anthony told SNY.tv exclusively on Sunday evening after he went 16-for-18 from the foul line and finished with a team-high 29 points in a 99-93 win over the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. “He came up big time yesterday, sure did come up big time.”
Carter-Williams struggled on Saturday afternoon, finishing with just seven points while shooting 2-for-6 from the field. For the year, he is averaging 12.5 points and 8.0 assists per game. Those numbers have upped his draft stock considerably and in a 2013 NBA Draft that some are predicting to be historically weak, Carter-Williams figures to be a lottery pick.
The latest DraftExpress.com mock draft has Carter-Williams going No. 10 and Porter going No. 15.
“Without a doubt, without a doubt,” Anthony said when asked if Carter-Williams and Porter could play at the next level. “It’s really up to them, it’s their decision at this point in time. MCW is definitely a younger guy, but he can play for sure. I like them guys, man, especially MCW. The way he’s been able to grow, especially after last year being the guy who hadn’t played much, coming up now, stepping up and doing what he’s doing.”
