December 17th UNC announced that Cole Anthony would be out 4-6 weeks after having an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee. Now, a little over 6 weeks later, the highly touted freshman point guard may be ready to make his return to the hardwood.
Roy Williams announced Friday that Anthony participated in 5 on 5 drills in practice and will be a game-time decision for Saturdayās game against Boston College.
āYesterday we allowed him to go five-on-five, and he probably went 25 to 35 percent of practice. I didnāt time it or anything, Iām just giving you my gut feeling. If he feels alright today, weāll probably let him do at least that [in practice Friday], and if he feels alright tomorrow when we come in for shootaround thereās a probability that we play him tomorrow.ā
āHeās dying to try to play,ā Williams continued. āSo weāll see what happens.Ā Ā If he comes in today and says heās sore, then heās not going to play. If he comes in today and says he feels great and handles it well then Iād say itās a probability Iāll play him.ā
This is great news for a Tar Heel team that seems to be regaining their footing after dropping five games in a row in early January.
After Tuesdayās win against NC State Anthony said he was feeling good, but wanted to make sure he was 110% before returning.
āI think heās been responsible, I think our trainer [Doug Halverson] has been responsible,ā Coach Williams said. āI think everybody has tried to look at the big picture and see whatās best. Heās an athlete I have a tremendous amount of respect for and trust in what heās saying about how he feels. It hasnāt been easy for him, he wants to play, he likes to play ā but heās been very cooperative in every situation weāve possibly had.ā
Williams wouldnāt speculate on how much playing Anthony would get, but was certain it wouldnāt be nearly 40 minutes.
The Tar Heels will tip off against Boston College Saturday at 6pm in Chapel Hill.
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