UNC Basketball: Greg Anthony leaves door slightly open for Cole Anthony’s return?

Following the UNC Basketball program’s fifth-straight loss on Saturday, former UNLV and NBA standout Greg Anthony met the media to talk about his son Cole and his future

The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered another disappointing loss on Saturday night to Virginia, losing on a made basket with just under 1 second left. It was the second-straight home game where UNC’s opponent hit the game-winning shot with under a second left.

This season has been a tough one for Roy Williams and his squad as they are now 10-15 overall and 3-11 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Tar Heels only ticket to the NCAA Tournament would be winning the ACC Tournament and at this point, that doesn’t seem likely.

One of the biggest reasons why UNC has struggled this year is the injuries.

The Tar Heels have seen injuries mounted as Cole Anthony, Brandon Robinson, Anthony Harris and Jeremiah Francis have all suffered injuries that have forced them to miss multiple games. Anthony returned a few weeks ago but in his first game back, Robinson had to leave and hasn’t played since.

They just can’t catch a break and now fans are looking to the future of the program, hoping for better days. But does that future include Anthony?

Following Saturday’s game vs. Boston College Anthony’s father and former NBA standout Greg Anthony talked to the media about his son and the year he’s had. Anthony even left the door slightly open, and we mean slightly, that his soon could return for another year.

Wait, what?

Here is what Anthony told the media via Ross Martin of Inside Carolina:

"“Absolutely, there’s been no decision as to what’s going to happen,” said Greg, who was a college star at UNLV and an 11-year NBA veteran. “That’s never been the approach for us, I know it’s not for him. His job is to get better and to grow. He is still a kid. He is trying to learn and figure it out and become a man. How to become a better teammate. All those things as parents, we push for our kids to learn. That’s what his process is."

You can watch and hear the full interview here via Inside Carolina.

Anthony is a former five-star recruit that committed to North Carolina back in April of 2019 and was ranked in the Top 5 in the 2019 recruiting class. Throughout the recruitment and leading up to his UNC debut, it’s been thought by nearly everyone that Anthony would be a one-and-done player.

Now, that’s likely still the case for the Tar Heels and Anthony as there is just a month left to go but his father’s comments are interesting. Heck, Harrison Barnes was thought to be a one-and-done player and returned for a second year.

The guard is still projected to be a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and the smart move is to take the sure thing. Coming back would be a big gamble, especially if he undergoes another injury to his knee.

UNC has a Top 3 recruiting class coming in for 2020 including two good guards in R.J. Davis and Caleb Love. If (and that’s a BIG IF) Anthony were to return, we imagine he’d run at the two-guard slot, which could be better suited for his game. But that’s a dream for now and we’d have to put his chances of returning as very, very slim.

For more on the UNC Basketball program, please check back with Keeping It Heel.