UNC Basketball: Former Tar Heels propel Bulls, Magic to victories

Former Tar Heels Coby White and Cole Anthony helped their respective teams earn victories on Sunday. 

A pair of former North Carolina basketball players continue to provide their respective teams with quality performances as we approach the NBA All-Star break.

Chicago Bulls point guard Coby White scored 18 points in his team’s Sunday afternoon victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. White hit 5-of-12 shots from the floor,  3-of-7 beyond the arc and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. He added six assists, three rebounds and just one turnover despite logging 31 minutes in the game.

For White, it was his second consecutive 18-point performance for the first-place Bulls, who continue to fend off the surging Cleveland Cavaliers that have taken over second place in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division. White scored double-digit points in 13 of his 16 January games while seeing nearly 32 minutes a night on the court.

He continues to be an important piece in the Chicago organization despite being relegated to a reserve role when the roster is fully healthy. Whether or not he’ll be in a Bulls uniform a year from now is certainly in question, though.

Cole Anthony, the one-and-done point guard that donned the Carolina blue the year after White, was also in action on Sunday in a game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks. Despite Doncic’s outstanding 34-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double, Anthony and the Magic came away with the victory, just their 11th of the season.

For his part, Anthony gave the Magic 16 points, four rebounds and a team-high six assists in 31 minutes of play. He struggled to hit shots, going just 6-for-16 from the floor and 0-for-6 from long-range, but did hit 4-of-5 free throws and committed just two turnovers despite heavy usage throughout. He also made an important bucket with 3:26 remaining in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 106.

Although he hasn’t been as good over the last month of the season, by far his worst of the 2021-22 campaign, Anthony is still impressing in what has turned out to be a real turnaround from what we saw from him in year one in the league. He’s averaging 17.8 points, six assists and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for more on former Tar Heels in the NBA and everything on the UNC basketball program.