Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: The 9 lowest lows of the Roy Williams era

By Blake Cockrum

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after his players turned the ball over against the UCLA Bruins during the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena on December 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Tar Heels defeated the Bruins 74-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after his players turned the ball over against the UCLA Bruins during the CBS Sports Classic at T-Mobile Arena on December 21, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Tar Heels defeated the Bruins 74-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA – JANUARY 04: L-R) Injured teammates Cole Anthony #2 and Anthony Harris #0 of the North Carolina Tar Heels walk on the court before their game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Dean Smith Center on January 04, 2020 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

2. The tumultuous 2019-20 season

For the last 10 years, the Tar Heels’ 2009-10 season has been the benchmark for miserable, disastrous seasons; at least in the minds of North Carolina fans. That’s quickly changing thanks to the disappointing, injury-riddled season that the UNC basketball program is currently enduring.

How bad is it? Well, consider the fact that it’s already No. 2 on this list, beating out the 2009-10 season, despite being just 18 games into a 31-game schedule. The Tar Heels have lost 10 of their last 13 games overall, and six consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference matchups — something they’d never done before. They lost to Clemson in Chapel Hill, also something that had never happened before. And any hopes of making the NCAA Tournament are all but gone. At this point, getting an invitation to the NIT Tournament might even be a stretch.

And how did it get this bad? The Tar Heels’ top recruit and leading scorer, Cole Anthony, has been sidelined for the past nine games; a stretch in which they’ve managed just two victories and seven losses. Freshman guard Anthony Harris missed the first 11 games of the season while recovering from an injury, and returned to play just two games before going down with a season-ending ACL injury. And yet another freshman guard, Jeremiah Francis, has missed substantial time this season for health-related reasons.

Freshman big man Armando Bacot has been sidelined a couple of times this season with various injuries. The same goes for sophomore guard Leaky Black, who missed time earlier in the season with a sprained right ankle. And junior big man Sterling Manley hasn’t played a single game this season after undergoing another surgery on his ailing knees.

After losing his top-five players from last season — Cameron Johnson, Luke Maye, Kenny Williams, Coby White and Nassir Little — Roy Williams did his best to reload in the offseason. A pair of highly regarded graduate transfers joined the mix this season, but neither has played up to expectations. And the scoring that the Tar Heels lost from last year’s team has been sorely missed, particularly that of Johnson and White. The Tar Heels are without a single wing scorer this year, and it’s been very evident throughout the season.

Anthony has been adamant about his return to the court this season, and that he’ll rejoin the Tar Heels’ lineup once he’s healthy. But even with Anthony in tow, how good are the Tar Heels? He certainly gives them a more consistent scoring option, but teams are also able to double-team Anthony due to the Tar Heels’ inability to put more than one or two reliable scorers on the court at one time.

However, the progression of Garrison Brooks’ offensive prowess has been impressive, and could give UNC a nice one-two punch with Anthony’s ability to drive the lane and hit outside shots. Still, I don’t see that promising tandem turning things around for North Carolina this season. Rolling off a few wins to close out the season sure would be encouraging, though.

All of that, and the season is just a few games past its half-way point. It’s been painful to watch, and it’s obviously been difficult for the players and coaching staff. On the bright side, things really can’t get much worse at this point.

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