It was early June when Roy Williams first verbalized what most North Carolina fans and observers were expecting. It was simple arithmetic, after all, mined from thousands of anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation data points. Anthony Harris tore the ACL in his right knee against Yale on Dec. 30, 2019, and had surgery the first week of January, so Williams suggesting that his freshman guard would be ready in nine months, and by the time of UNC’s season opener, seemed on track with realistic expectations.
Nine months came and went in a year that will forever by defined by COVID-19, and in October, Harris confirmed that he had yet to be cleared for full basketball activities and that there was no timetable in place. UNC’s season opener tipped off without the spark plug being available and that status became a trend through the first seven weeks of the season.
It was not until last week that Harris participated in fullcourt periods in practice and he dressed out for the first time in over a year for UNC’s home game against Syracuse on Tuesday. The Woodbridge, Va. native did not play against the Orange, and Williams seemed hesitant to play him against Florida State, both in Friday’s press conference and after the game had tipped. The Hall of Fame head coach typically tips his hand with his substitutions: if a player doesn’t see playing time in the first half, he can keep his warmups on after halftime.
It took a 6-0 Florida State run and an ensuing trip to the free throw line, which would increase the home team’s lead to 52-43 with 13:39 to play, to enrage Williams enough to turn around to find head athletic trainer Doug Halverson for a quick word. Moments later, Harris hopped on an exercise bike before checking into the game for his first action in 383 days.
Harris developed somewhat of a cult following this offseason despite logging just 61 minutes in five games in 2019-20, although his energy and tenacity shone through in that small sample size. His plus-minus contribution in his final three games was a stout plus-41 and the need for such a boost carried over into this season as UNC’s backcourt has struggled due to youth and inconsistency.
On Saturday, Harris was back in that similar role, breathing life into an oftentimes stagnant offense and bringing toughness to a defense in which that trait has been sorely lacking. The 6-foot-4, 196-pound guard scored five points on two field goal attempts, dished out three assists and was responsible for drawing a pair of offensive fouls. Harris only logged nine minutes, but his plus-10 contribution was eight points higher than his next closest teammate (Andrew Platek, plus-2).
“Well, that's what he does is he plays with a tremendous amount of energy,” Williams told reporters following the 82-75 loss at the Tucker Center. “He's good defensively, but just the energy level that he brings… That's who he is. That's what he does every day. And he's an extremely active young man. And there are some of the things that he doesn't do as well that some of the other guys do better, but Anthony does give you a level of energy that's important, too.”
Williams has received criticism in recent days in seemingly dragging the rehab process out, although he reiterated on Saturday his refusal to rush things along, saying that he didn’t think Harris had enough reps of running up and down the court in practice. Williams indicated that when Harris subbed out four minutes after initially entering the game, it was the player, not the coach, who made that decision.
As it turns out, the viral monster that has plagued the world over the past 12 months is more to blame for the prolonged rehabilitation process than anything else.
“I think Corona played a big deal in my recovery time,” Harris said. “I've been feeling good for a while, but you know, this is not something you want to rush back into. So I feel like our staff has been doing a really good job of making sure I've been comfortable throughout the practices I've been in. And just making sure I wasn't rushing anything.”
Harris, who rehabbed with UNC graduate Lance Kelly, who serves as MedStar Health’s director of professional and elite sports therapy in the spring after COVID-19 forced student-athletes to leave campus in March, described how the uncertainty around the virus and its accompanying protocols slowed his recovery, noting that he even took some time off at certain points during the offseason.
Harris has only played in six games as a Tar Heel and yet his impact is obvious. He’s an offensive facilitator, a defensive stopper and a vocal leader. His strong performance prompted postgame questions prying at his goals of eventually entering the starting lineup, although as a young man who has played so little basketball in the past two years, he’s making sure to take surefooted steps day-by-day instead of looking ahead.
“That's not really something I'm too worried about right now,” Harris said. “It’s still really early. I'm just trying to get wins right now. Just making sure everybody knows everything they need to know and everybody knows the spots they need to be in, just bringing energy in any way I can.”
While there’s no desire to rush Harris along, there is urgency in UNC’s need to improve its backcourt production. The Tar Heels are solidly on the NCAA Tournament bubble at the midway point of the season with a tough close to the regular season ahead. Harris’s play in Tallahassee on Saturday offers hope that UNC can make a difficult climb up the ACC standings over the next seven weeks.
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