'Ain't got much left': Without Cole Anthony or Leaky Black, UNC falls to Wofford

Roy Williams spoke for about 50 seconds then stopped. The UNC head coach had nothing more to say. 

“Uhh… guys, I ain’t got much left,” he said. 

Now, stop me if this sounds familiar — because it should. 

North Carolina had just dropped a third consecutive game, this time to Wofford of the Southern Conference. The 69-year-old Hall of Famer was again left without answers following Sunday’s 68-64 defeat in Carmichael Arena.

Williams learned Saturday morning that first-year point guard Cole Anthony, the team’s leading scorer, would not play because of a right knee injury. Sophomore guard Leaky Black would also be out because of a sprained right foot. 

Thrown into the starting point guard role was redshirt junior guard K.J. Smith, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship this season. Graduate transfer guard Christian Keeling filled in for Black. And first-year guard Jeremiah Francis also played for large stretches, a week after playing just three minutes in his collegiate debut against Virginia.

“They had really good moments,” junior forward Garrison Brooks said. “I’m really proud of them. That’s a tough role to step into. I think we put a lot on them, and I think that they did a good job.”

Still, it just wasn’t enough. 

It wasn’t for a lack of confidence, though. Less than two minutes into the game, Smith had already taken two shots — a three-pointer and a short-range jumper — but missed both.

But he soon found his rhythm. When he knocked down two free throws with a little over four minutes until halftime, he was up to seven points. 

“From the last guy on the bench to the first guy, everybody stays ready,” Smith said. “And that’s just what I did.” 

At halftime, however, the Tar Heels held just a four-point lead. 

Francis also looked good throughout points in the contest. After missing the entirety of UNC’s first eight games and playing in garbage time last week, being in the game for 16 minutes and adding three assists should’ve been more than adequate.

On this day, it just wasn’t. Not without Anthony or Black. Not with first-year forward Armando Bacot shooting only 2-14 from the field. 

Neither Smith nor Francis scored in the second half, and the Terriers continued their three-point barrage, hitting 14-40 from deep for the game. 

With 10:18 left to play in the game, UNC was in a 13-point hole. The game looked all but over. 

Then, senior guard Brandon Robinson tried to take over. In a little over two minutes, the Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run — a span in which Robinson buried a three-pointer, made two free throws and found Brooks in the paint for a dunk that sent Carmichael into a frenzy. 

But the comeback attempt fell short. A three-pointer from junior guard Andrew Platek at the 3:11 mark cut the deficit to four points, but Wofford had an answer. On the next possession, Terrier guard Trevor Stumpe drilled a three of his own. 

“It’s tough for a lot of reasons,” Robinson said of the loss. “I can’t really explain them. I feel like we tried. This is the hardest we’ve tried to play this year.”

Stumpe’s triple put the nail in the coffin. It allowed Wofford to pull off an upset against North Carolina for the second time in three years.

Most importantly, for now, it left Williams without an explanation.

“I know we’re gonna benefit in the long run from it,” Williams said, “but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to go through right now for sure.”

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