UNC Basketball: Roy Williams has praise for freshmen

Two UNC Basketball freshmen received some high praise from head coach Roy Williams following a win over UCLA on Saturday

It’s been tough sledding for the North Carolina Tar Heels over the past few weeks.

Saturday’s win over UCLA snapped a four-game losing streak for the Tar Heels as they got back on track. But before that the Tar Heels received news that they would be without star freshman Cole Anthony who underwent a procedure on his knee. Anthony is expected to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks as UNC lost to Wofford and at Gonzaga without him.

But that streak ended thanks to the rise of two other freshmen on the roster.

With Anthony out, both Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris emerged as key players for the Tar Heels both on offense and defense. This is big because both players entered this year with injuries and were sidelined to start the year.

The emergence of both Francis and Harris hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. Head coach Roy Williams went out of his way to praise the freshmen following the win on Saturday, complimenting them by using a UNC legend in the process.

That’s some high praise.

As you know, Hansbrough was a legend at North Carolina and his work ethic was unlike anything else we have seen as Williams pointed out. For Harris and Francis to get that compliment is HUGE.

Although neither have started a game yet, Francis might be on the verge of doing so. He’s played well in coming in for K.J. Smith and has averaged 6 points, 1 rebound and 2.5 assists in 4 games played while averaging 17.5 minutes per game. His shooting could get better but that’s something he will have to work on.

For Harris, he came up big against UCLA scoring all 13 of his points in the second half. When UNC needed a bucket the most in that final half, Harris delivered.

The emergence of both guards shows some hope for the future in a rough stretch this season.

For more on Harris and Francis, plus everything UNC Basketball please check back with Keeping It Heel.