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North Carolina basketball's Twitter tweeted out Friday asking who people's favorite UNC point guard of all-time is. Lakers star LeBron James responded with his:
Ed Cota
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 6, 2022
Ed Cota played for UNC in the late 1990s and into the 1999-2000 season. That's right when James began tearing up the scene as a high school underclassman on the national stage.
North Carolina is one of the most prestigious schools in college basketball, and it begins with their rich tradition at the point guard position. They've employed several excellent floor generals over the years, including Cota. Phil Ford is perhaps the most common answer for best point guard in UNC history. Again, UNC asked for people's favorite point guard, not best.
Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson tore up the first decade of the 2000s for the Tar Heels. Current NBA players Coby White and Cole Anthony enjoyed successful one-year hiatuses in Chapel Hill. Joel Berry and Marcus Paige are fan-favorites as well.
James of course never played college ball, but he's shown fandom toward several schools over the years. Ohio State seems to be the most notable one, as their campus is just two hours away from James' hometown, Akron. He's shown his respect for Duke over the years as well, particularly when HC Mike Krzyzewski coached him on Team USA.
Cota was without a doubt the best true point guard of any of those aforementioned names though, as he shattered Kenny Smith's previous career assists record. In four seasons, Smith's 768 assists broke Phil Ford's previous record. Cota racked up 1,030 career assists at North Carolina, a record that may never be broken. That's especially true in today's college basketball landscape, where four-year stars are virtually unheard of.
Cota needed just 23 assists in his senior season to break UNC's all-time assists record. He also still holds the record for most minutes played in a career with 4,631. Cota sounds like just the point guard LeBron James would want to play with.