UNC’s Cole Anthony apologizes after loss to Florida State. ‘I could have done better.’

Cole Anthony sat in a chair in the visitor’s locker room and sulked. His head hung low. His black and blonde dreadlocks covered his eyes, and he spoke in a quiet voice as he answered reporters’ questions.

About 30 or 40 minutes had passed since North Carolina’s 65-59 loss to No. 8 Florida State on the road, but Anthony was still wearing his game jersey.

His teammates had already showered and dressed. And most were about to head back to the team’s bus.

When asked what was going through his mind, Anthony said he was apologetic.

“I’m just sorry to my teammates,” he said. “I could have done better.”

Anthony, a 6-3, 190-pound freshman guard, struggled on Monday. He scored 16 points, but was 5 of 22 from the floor overall. He was 2 of 14 in the second half.

The Tar Heels led the Seminoles 37-33 with 16:22 left after a Garrison Brooks jumpshot. But the team went cold after that.

Over an 11-minute stretch, UNC missed 17 shot attempts — eight of them Anthony’s. It was a critical stretch in a game UNC desperately needed to win.

“I missed like five free throws, missed probably like 12 shots straight just by myself,” Anthony said without looking up. “A lot of those shots were just bad shots. Could have set my teammates up better. Could have made a lot better decisions.”

Getting the bigs going

Monday’s game was Anthony’s second since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for nearly two months.

Without Anthony, the Tar Heels struggled. They went 4-7 but seemed to find their rhythm about two weeks ago when they won back-to-back games over Miami and N.C. State. Brooks had been one of the ACC’s best players. He averaged 18.9 points and 10.1 rebounds in 11 games without Anthony.

“It wasn’t anything special for me,” Brooks said. “My teammates were getting me the ball and I was just scoring.”

UNC freshman forward Armando Bacot was also getting into a rhythm.

But with Anthony back, the Tar Heels haven’t been able to get their two big men going.

Bacot and Brooks combined for 11 points and 10 rebounds against Florida State. In the last two games, Brooks averaged 7.5 points and Bacot averaged 8.5.

When asked how to get all three players going at the same time, UNC coach Roy Williams said if he knew, he would have already done it.

He added that he didn’t think Brooks and Bacot were “moving as effectively,” as they were before.

Brooks seemed to push back.

“I think we did a fair job,” Brooks said. “We were open. Sometimes.

“I think we can do a better job getting open for the guards, but I thought Armando did a good job today getting position. I think we’ve just got to get him the ball in the right spot.”

Making strides

In order for the Tar Heels to be their best, they must find a way to get Bacot and Brooks more touches. When those two players are on, the Tar Heels have a significant advantage.

That might mean less shots from Anthony. But something must give. The Tar Heels have now lost 11 of their last 15 games, and their schedule only gets tougher from here. Up next is No. 7 Duke on Saturday.

Williams said it’s not “rocket science.” And he wasn’t interested in hearing any questions pertaining to whether he was optimistic about a close loss on the road to a top team.

“I am not trying to belittle any question asked, because I believe that you can get something out of every game,” Williams said to the media after the game. “You get some good and some bad things from every game.

“However, in the game of basketball, there is always a winner and a loser. We have to make our team feel as if that are gaining something out of these games. At this point, I do not know if our kids are feeling that we are making any strides.”

This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "UNC’s Cole Anthony apologizes after loss to Florida State. ‘I could have done better.’."