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Anthony
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to 'Cincy'
CJ Anthony wanted to play Division I basketball. And he wanted to play it at a high level.
But the offers didn’t come in as hoped following a solid postgrad season at PSA in which he averaged 10.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and drew a team-record 18 charges over 20 games. But Anthony also didn’t give up.
Anthony’s belief in himself, which Mustangs coach Tom Espinosa said was second-to-none in the program, paid off, as he announced on July 6 that he had accepted a walk-on spot at the University of Cincinnati.
“We’ve been in contact about a month or so,” Anthony said. “It’s a great program, great new coach, and everything just kind of flowed naturally with that. I’m happy I’ll get a chance to compete at a high level at a great college and be able to do all that close to home (his hometown of Canal Winchester, Ohio is only about a two-hour drive to Cincy), a lot of things just really checked the boxes. It’s an opportunity that God put on your plate and you have to take it.”
As a walk-on, Anthony – who scored nearly 2,400 points in high school – will have a different road to travel than in the past. He will likely be a practice-player for the foreseeable future, though he said the idea for him and the coaching staff is that he will become a scholarship player at some point. Cincy is coached by Wes Miller, who was named to the job in April and was tabbed ESPN’s No. 1 coach younger than 40.
“They were already aware of my talents but they just want to see me,” he said. “They want me to be part of the program and be part of the team. I just couldn’t pass up that opportunity. There’s not a timetable on it for me. I just go day-by-day and work hard.
“I don’t think it’s any different than any situation I’ve been in. No one has ever just handed me a position to go score or to have the ball. For me, I feel like everything I’ve gotten, I’ve worked for. It’s going to be the same thing at Cincinnati. Maybe I have to start out a little lower but the work is
going to happen.” Anthony’s energy and personality were contagious. He was always the loudest player in the gym, and that almost never stopped. He plans on being the same guy from Day 1 in college too.
“That’s just who I am, I never shy away from being myself,” he said. “They want me to come in there and be me. Talking to a teammate, yelling and getting guys going, taking a charge, asking coaches questions…whatever the role is, I’m going to excel at it and make it better.”
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
.