Larry Sanders believes J. Cole has a real chance of making it in the NBA

When asked if Cole can make it as a professional player, he told TMZ: "I do, for real. I've seen him hoop before in some games and I knew he took the game seriously when he was younger.

"He always raps about it, so that's dope. I'm excited to see that."

Cole was a gifted basketball player in high school but ultimately decided to focus on music in college.

Meanwhile, Master P - who signed two separate NBA contracts in the late 1990s, playing for both the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors - previously TMZ Sports: "When I talked to J. Cole, he was like 'You know, big dog you did it. What do you think I would have to do to make it happen?'

"I said to get one of these NBA jerseys, it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be a lot of hate, it's gonna be a lot of people not believing in you but you know J. Cole - he got the right size, he in the gym!"

However, he warned Cole that it would not be easy.

"But, what I told him ... this a different time we're in. They're going to pick you apart! You're gonna have to be able to hit every shot and if you don't hit every shot, they - you know in the NBA, they don't hit every shot but they believe in them. So, you're gonna have to go somewhere where the team really believe in you and the players believe in you.

"They've been putting their whole life into this. So, you're gonna have to prove you're worthy of being on that court."