UNC star Cole Anthony out indefinitely with knee injury

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – NOVEMBER 06: Cole Anthony #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after making a three-point basket against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at the Dean Smith Center on November 06, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 76-65. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

The injury woes continue for the Tar Heels.

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tar Heels got devastating news on Sunday, as star freshman guard Cole Anthony is out indefinitely with a right knee injury. Anthony leads the Tar Heels with 19.6 points per game and 3.4 assists per game. He hasn’t been terribly efficient, but he represents one of the only consistent scoring options for the Tar Heels.

Anthony joins forwards Leaky Black (day-to-day) and Sterling Manley (out for the season) on the injury report. The Tar Heels will likely start K.J. Smith in Anthony’s absence. Smith has only played in eight games and has not made a field goal this season. There will certainly be a drop-off in production.

UNC has limped to a 6-3 record to start the season behind an already anemic offense. The Tar Heels are 249th in scoring offense, as well as 314th in field goal percentage in the nation. The result has been losses in three of their last four. The Tar Heels failed to crack 50 points in losses to Virginia and Ohio State.

The Tar Heels have absolutely no break ahead on the schedule, with a road game at Gonzaga and neutral-site match-up with UCLA, sandwiched in between games with Wofford and Yale before the year is over. Yale is no cupcake match-up, having nearly beaten Penn State and Oklahoma State.

We’ll have to see how the Tar Heels respond to this development and if a timetable becomes available for Anthony’s return.

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