Cole Anthony’s status, Brooks’ improvement. Five observations as UNC preps for Miami.
After North Carolina’s loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday, coach Roy Williams said his team is improving.
But it didn’t take away the pain from yet another loss this month. The Tar Heels have dropped five consecutive games, their longest losing streak since 2002.
“Young kids need to be rewarded a little bit and it’s been difficult for this club to be rewarded,” Williams said.
Saturday’s game against Miami may be that opportunity. Miami (10-8, 2-6 ACC), like UNC (8-10, 1-6), has struggled. The Hurricanes have lost their last three games, which includes a 30-point road loss to Duke on Tuesday.
Here are five observations before the Tar Heels face the Hurricanes:
1. Cole Anthony appears close to a return
Anthony continues to post on social media and tell fans that he is close to returning to the court. He’s missed the last nine games after undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure to repair a partial tear in his right meniscus in December.
While signing autographs at UNC’s game against Virginia Tech, a fan asked when he’d return. Anthony said, “very soon.”
But as of Friday, Anthony had not practiced. And Williams said he’d rather Anthony practice before he played.
That means Anthony likely will not be available for Saturday’s game against Miami or Monday’s game against N.C. State.
Anthony’s initial prognosis was that he would miss four to six weeks. Monday will be six weeks since the procedure, but Williams said Friday that they would continue to be cautious.
His teammates say they can’t wait for his return.
“When you lose 19, 18 points a game, that’s hard,” UNC guard Christian Keeling said Wednesday. “Cole is a competitor and he’s not just going to give in. He wants to get back and we want him back. So I think he’s going to make us better.”
2. Justin Pierce showed potential
When Willliam & Mary transfer Justin Pierce was added to UNC’s roster last offseason, he was expected to give the Tar Heels another shooter.
Before suffering a wrist injury prior to his junior season, Pierce had shot 41 percent from behind the 3-point line as a sophomore, while averaging 14.7 points per game.
The Tar Heels needed it. They were losing their top four 3-point shooters from the 2018-19 team and most of their scoring. And the thought was that Pierce could provide that.
But so far this season, that had not been the case.
Until Wednesday. Pierce started for the first time this season because senior guard Brandon Robinson was out. He gave the Tar Heels a spark, scoring 15 points in 46 minutes. He was also 3 of 5 from behind the 3-point line.
He was also playing a position that came natural to him. For most of this season, Pierce has had to play the four because of Sterling Manley’s injury.
Entering Wednesday’s game against Virginia Tech, Pierce was averaging 3.3 points per game, and was 2 of 14 from behind the 3-point line.
He was shooting 20 percent from the 3-point line for the season.
“Coach told me a few hours before the game, when we put in the final scouting report that I was going to be at the 3,” Pierce said. “So I just tried to do what I could to help the team.”
Against Virginia Tech, Pierce was a big reason the Tar Heels nearly won. They’ll need that down the stretch as UNC’s ACC games get tougher.
3. Optimism around
After UNC’s loss to Virginia Tech, the mood in the locker room was a lot less grim. Of course, players were still mad that they lost.
But compared to the locker room scene after the Pitt game, players actually seemed optimistic.
Part of that is because they sense Anthony will return soon. And part of it is because they felt that despite their loss on Wednesday, they gave it their all.
Against Pitt, there seemed to be little effort in the first half. The Tar Heels trailed by 20 points at halftime.
In this game, the Tar Heels led for the majority of the game, but just ran out of gas.
Four players played 46 minutes or more in the double overtime game. Throughout the game, players were cramping and had to be massaged during timeouts. It was a tough game.
When the buzzer sounded, UNC junior Garrison Brooks, who played 48 minutes, sat on the hardwood court with a dazed look on his face.
“We fought to the end,” Brooks said Wednesday. “We just missed a couple of plays. But I can live with the result. We gave it our all and just came up a little bit short.”
4. Brooks has become a go-to scorer
When UNC entered the 2019-20 season, Brooks was its highest returning scorer. He averaged 7.9 points per game the previous year, and was the Tar Heels’ sixth-leading scorer.
Williams knew the Tar Heels needed another scorer outside of Anthony, and he wanted Brooks to be that guy. Initially, it didn’t work out that way. Brooks was not nearly as aggressive as Williams wanted him to be.
But since Anthony has been out, Brooks has been a man among boys.
In his last five games, he’s averaging 22.6 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. He has six consecutive games with double-doubles. He scored a career-high 35 points against Georgia Tech on Jan. 4, and had 28 points and 13 rebounds against Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
When UNC needed a game-winning bucket against Virginia Tech, the play was drawn up for Brooks. He missed it, but it didn’t take away from his performance.
“We saw that he had the highest field goal percentage on the team, so it’d be stupid to not get him the ball,” UNC guard Leaky Black said Friday.
If he continues to be that go-to threat, it can ease the pressure off Anthony to be superman when he returns.
5. Roy Williams stuck on 879
Williams tied his mentor Dean Smith for fourth-most wins all time on Dec. 30 when UNC beat Yale. But that was the last time UNC has won a game. Since then, UNC has lost five straight.
There has been little to no talk about passing Smith since then. The Tar Heels are just trying to figure out how to get a win for their own sake.
He currently sits at 879, and has a chance to get to 880 on Saturday at home at the Dean Smith Center. If not, his next chance will be on the road against N.C. State, where he has also had success.
UNC vs Miami
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Chapel Hill, Dean Smith Center
TV: ESPN2
Listen: WTKK-106.1 Raleigh; WCHL-97.9, WCHL-1360 Chapel Hill; WBT-99.3, WBT-1110 Charlotte
This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 3:03 PM.
