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 Saturday’s game against Boston College.
“Yesterday we allowed him to go five-on-five, and he probably went 25 to 35 percent of practice. I didn’t time it or anything, I’m just giving you my gut feeling. If he feels alright today, we’ll probably let him do at least that [in practice Friday], and if he feels alright tomorrow when we come in for shootaround there’s a probability that we play him tomorrow.”
“He’s dying to try to play,” Williams continued. “So we’ll see what happens. If he comes in today and says he’s sore, then he’s not going to play. If he comes in today and says he feels great and handles it well then I’d say it’s a probability I’ll play him.”
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 Tuesday’s win against NC State Anthony said he was feeling good, but wanted to make sure he was 110% before returning.
“I think he’s been responsible, I think our trainer [Doug Halverson] has been responsible,” Coach Williams said. “I think everybody has tried to look at the big picture and see what’s best. He’s an athlete I have a tremendous amount of respect for and trust in what he’s saying about how he feels. It hasn’t been easy for him, he wants to play, he likes to play – but he’s been very cooperative in every situation we’ve possibly had.”
Williams wouldn’t speculate on how much playing Anthony would get, but was certain it wouldn’t be nearly 40 minutes.
The Tar Heels will tip off against Boston College Saturday at 6pm in Chapel Hill.