In the Wee Hours Tuesday Night, Cole Anthony Knew he Was Ready to Return
CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina Tar Heels freshman guard Cole Anthony didn’t disappoint, in his first game in nearly two months after undergoing knee surgery last December, against the Boston College Eagles tonight at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Although he gave himself a D+ grade, Anthony finished as the game’s leading scorer with 26 points, 14-14 from the free-throw line, and led Carolina with three assists. Still, his efforts weren’t enough to lift Carolina (10-11, 3-7 ACC) past the Eagles (11-11, 5-6), and they lost 71-70 due to a questionable call, poor shooting and mental mistakes down the stretch.
However, the moment that Anthony and his suitemate knew he was ready to comeback happened in the wee hours Tuesday night at 1 a.m.
“Me and (Anthony) got in the gym Tuesday,” said Carolina freshman forward Armando Bacot. “We kind of snuck in the gym, because Cole is the type of guy, even if they say don’t work out, he’s still gonna try and go work out. He was in there dunking the ball and stuff like that; he wasn’t even cleared yet. So I was like, ‘Oh yeah! He’s definitely gonna be good.’ He was ready.”
Anthony’s high-flying acrobatics no only surprised Bacot, but himself.
“That was the first time I dunked since I got my surgery,” Anthony said. It felt good to find out that I could still do that. I didn’t lose what I had.”
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams and the training staff allowed Anthony to go 5-on-5 for the first time Thursday – 48 hours after his first dunk.
“In practice (Thursday),” said junior guard Andrew Platek, “he made just a crazy Cole move and finished a really hard layup. And I was like, ‘OK, he’s back.’ So it’s just little stuff like that. When he shows you the kind of player he is, that’s when I knew – just something no one else could do.”
What’s Next
The Eagles host the Duke Blue Devils Tuesday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
North Carolina travels to Tallahassee, Fla., to face the No. 5 Flordia State Seminoles (18-3, 8-2 ACC) Monday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m.
(Image courtesy of Landon Bost)