Despite losses, UNC hopes to emerge a much better team when Cole Anthony returns
One day before North Carolina’s game against Virginia Tech, Roy Williams got some news that has become all too familiar.
Another one his players would not be available for its upcoming game.
Seven players have missed at least one game this season with an injury, and senior guard Brandon Robinson was the latest Tar Heels to be out.
Robinson was experiencing neck pain, the effects of the whiplash he suffered after getting into a car accident almost two weeks ago. UNC’s medical staff thought it was best Robinson not play or make the three-hour bus ride to Blacksburg and back.
As the Tar Heels (8-10, 1-6 ACC) lost their fifth consecutive game on Wednesday, 79-77 in double overtime, it’s hard not to point to the injuries as a major reason why they’ve struggled. The Tar Heels are battling to find a win, while also pushing to put together a consistent lineup.
Aside from Robinson, star guard Cole Anthony is out as he recovers from surgery to repair a partial tear in his right meniscus.
Sterling Manley and Anthony Harris are out for the season after having knee surgeries.
A thin roster
Last season, the Tar Heels were healthy. They used only two different starting lineups in 36 games. But on Wednesday, the Tar Heels went with their seventh different starting lineup this season. They’ve played only 18 games.
Williams started Leaky Black, Andrew Platek, Justin Pierce, Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot. And for the most part, that lineup played well. Black, Pierce and Brooks had one of their better games of the season. Brooks led the Tar Heels with 28 points and 13 rebounds, Pierce had 15 points, and Black had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
They led by as many as 12 points in the second half. Williams used a short bench and played only seven players. However, four players — Platek, Black, Brooks and Pierce — played 46 or more minutes.
And as the game wore on, it was apparent that fatigue began to catch up.
“I was cramping really bad,” Platek said. “Me and Leaky both.”
Williams said he went with a short bench because of Virginia Tech’s ability to shoot the 3 at every position. He wanted to play his more versatile big men.
“If you had asked me in August who would our top seven players would be, I’d tell you we don’t have four of those seven,” Williams said. “So we’re thin, but guys have got to be able get in there and do some things.”
The Tar Heels went cold late, and shot only 33 percent in the second half. As a result, they saw their lead slowly shrink until the game was tied with 13.7 seconds left in regulation and went into overtime. But that overtime wasn’t enough.
They did one more.
And by the time the buzzer sounded, and UNC had lost, Brooks bent over and sat down on the hardwood court. He looked dazed. Brooks later said he was exhausted.
Anthony coming back?
Fortunately for the Tar Heels, Anthony and Robinson are expected back this season. The two are their first- and third-leading scorers, and between them, they are averaging 31.2 points per game this season, which is 45 percent of the Tar Heels’ scoring.
“We’d like to have Cole come back and B-Rob come back, too,” Williams said. “Somebody said that (Robinson) and Cole have made more 3’s than the rest of our team put together this year.
“But you can’t do anything about injuries. Some of the guys are learning some things about themselves.”
This is why some players believe that when Anthony returns, they will be a better team than they were in the season-opener.
Early in the season, UNC had trouble finding another scorer outside of Anthony. In the season-opener, Anthony scored 34 of the Tar Heels’ 76 points.
The next highest scorer was Brooks, who had 10 points.
Anthony was responsible for scoring as well as creating opportunities for his teammates. And when Anthony was ruled out, the Tar Heels often looked lost.
“We were so used to having him score a lot, it was like where is the scoring going to come from?” Platek said. “We kind of found those guys.”
Brooks is one of them. In his last five games, he’s averaging 22.6 points per game. During that same span, he’s also averaging 11.6 rebounds per game.
Robinson has also played well recently before his accident. He scored a career-high 27 points against Clemson.
When Anthony comes back, and he says “very soon,” the Tar Heels will have more options than they once had. It can be the difference in a close game like the one against Virginia Tech.
“I think we got a lot better as a team,” Platek said, “and when Cole comes back, he’s going to experience the benefit of us playing without him, and just playing better as a team.
“So when he goes off, we can keep up the intensity, keep up the scoring. I do think it will help us in the long run.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 3:54 AM.
