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NCAA Basketball: Impact of UNC freshman Cole Anthony’s long-term absence

By Tristan Freeman

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 15: Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels waits to inbound the ball during the first half of their game against the Gardner-Webb Runnin Bulldogs at the Dean Smith Center on November 15, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 15: Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels waits to inbound the ball during the first half of their game against the Gardner-Webb Runnin Bulldogs at the Dean Smith Center on November 15, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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Cole Anthony
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – DECEMBER 15: Leaky Black #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels and Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Tough news out of North Carolina with star point guard Cole Anthony out for at least a month with an injury. How does it affect the team and NCAA Basketball?

Of all the freshmen from the 2019 NCAA Basketball recruiting class, Cole Anthony has risen to the very top among his peers. The UNC starting point is second among all first-year players with 19.1 ppg, while also chipping in with 6.3 rpg and 3.6 apg.

At times, he’s been the only reliable source for a Tar Heels team that’s been hit hard with the injury bug. Multiple projected rotation players have already missed time in the early part of the season, while others have underperformed outside of Anthony.

But now, North Carolina is in real trouble thanks to the bad news that Anthony himself is going to be out for a while. After seemingly looking uncomfortable with his knee at some point in the Battle 4 Atlantis, head coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels have announced that the young star will be out 4-6 weeks after undergoing a procedure on his knee.

For a player with top-5 NBA Draft pick projections, who knows where this leads for Anthony. The reported intentions are that he wants to come back around late February but the temptation to just sit out and not risk further damage before getting paid has to be there. But for UNC to have any hope of reaching preseason expectations, they’ll need to have him back as soon as possible.

The impact of Anthony’s injury doesn’t just stay in North Carolina, as there are ramifications for the ACC and NCAA Basketball overall. Here are my immediate first thoughts on what his absence means going forward.

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