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North Carolina’s Anthony Harris, right, looks to make a pass as Florida State’s Anthony Polite defends during Saturday’s game.
Times-News
[ACC pool photo], Times-News
CHAPEL HILL — The unexpected sight of Anthony Harris entering North Carolina’s last game prompted surprised reactions from teammates such as freshman guard RJ Davis and senior forward Garrison Brooks, with Davis saying he even did a double take to be sure of what was happening.
Then, Harris, participating in his first game in more than 12 months, dived into furthering his impact among the Tar Heels.
“He changed the game,” Davis said. “For him to step into the fire like that and for the amount of time he was out there, he brought a lot of energy and it kind of changed the game. He’s a ball of energy on both sides of the court.”
North Carolina meets visiting Wake Forest on Wednesday night in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup at the Smith Center, with Harris finally back in the fold as an available option and suddenly a contributing source in his return from another major knee injury, the latest one suffered Dec. 30, 2019.
One year and 10 days after surgery to repair the torn ligament in his right knee, Harris produced a noticeable boost off the bench during the second half of Saturday’s loss at Florida State.
The redshirt freshman guard hit both of his shot attempts while providing five points and three assists in just nine minutes of action. He also drew a charging foul on Florida State’s Malik Osborne, on the way to earning the Tar Heels’ defensive player of the game award, a team honor recognized by coach Roy Williams and his staff.
Williams checked with North Carolina athletic trainer Doug Halverson before sending Harris in at the 13:39 mark of the second half, when Florida State led 54-43 along the course of its eventual 82-75 victory.
“I didn’t expect ‘Ant’ to play, but he gave us a huge lift,” Brooks said. “Something we needed. We needed somebody new, some new energy in there, and that’s what he did for us. He was great.”
The hustling Harris became responsible for a plus-10 rating, easily the best of those numbers supplied by the 11 Tar Heels who played against the Seminoles. The plus-minus scale measures a player’s effect on a game, represented by the difference between their team’s scoring total and the opposing team’s scoring total when they are in the game.
Harris said he felt a rush of excitement and had “a lot of emotion going through me” when Williams approached Halverson just prior to inserting him Saturday.
“I knew if I didn’t play in the first half we were going to still warm up the same way in the second half, because it was still a possibility I would get in,” Harris said. “So I feel like me and Coach had a good talk about what possibly would’ve happened and what did happen, so I was pretty ready.
“When Doug came over there and talked to me, it pretty much just clicked. I was pretty much already warm, so it wasn’t too much I had to do. I was ready to go.”
Harris missed North Carolina’s first eight games of last season while recovering from a torn ligament in his left knee, which cost him most of his senior season at his Fairfax, Va., high school. He played in five straight December games last season with the Tar Heels, before injuring his right knee during a defeat of Yale.
Harris said his trust in the right knee holding up and overall confidence grew across the two weeks of practice that preceded Saturday’s return at Florida State. Williams said Harris did half-court work in practices for about a month, and then transitioned to full-court mode for the two weeks prior to his season debut.
“I could’ve played him the last game, but I didn’t want to rush things,” Williams said, referring to North Carolina’s victory against Syracuse last week on Jan. 12. “I didn’t think he’d had enough reps of going up and down the court, full court, every day in practice.”
How Harris’s newfound availability impacts the Tar Heels’ rotation on the wing, alongside freshman point guards Davis and Caleb Love, remains to be seen.
Junior starter Leaky Black has put together a recent string of productive performances, but he went scoreless and played a season-low 20 minutes while saddled with foul trouble at Florida State. Senior reserve Andrew Platek shot 1-for-6 from the field in his 19 minutes off the bench against the Seminoles, as Harris contributed in bursts.
Williams subbed Harris in and out three times during the second half Saturday, saying afterward “I’m not going to go play that kid 25-30 minutes a game,” with Harris navigating the first step in the process of regaining his wind.
“I thought he was phenomenal,” Williams said Monday. “I just wanted a different energy level out there with our club. If the other guys played at that level, their effort and focus and sense of urgency, I’d be a heck of a lot better coach, I can tell you that.
“Going forward, I’m scared to death every possession. I just want to make sure we’re taking care of him.”
TIP-OFF
Who: Wake Forest (3-5, 0-5) at North Carolina (8-5, 3-3)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday (ACC Network)
Where: Smith Center, Chapel Hill
Series: North Carolina leads 162-67, including 78-18 in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels have won seven of the last eight meetings between the teams.
Tip-in: Wake Forest, under first-year coach Steve Forbes, is coming off a four-game stretch against ranked ACC opponents that resulted in losses to Virginia, Duke, Louisville and Virginia Tech
