North Carolina guard Cole Anthony, a potential top-five pick in the NBA draft, will miss the next four to six weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee.
Anthony had suffered a partially torn meniscus.
"Obviously not having a player of Cole's caliber will be a tremendous challenge to our young team, but we have to play," coach Roy Williams said. "No one player is going to replace the production Cole Anthony gives us, so it's up to everyone who puts on a North Carolina jersey to raise his game and help our team play better."
Anthony, a 6-foot-3 point guard and the top guard recruit entering college basketball this season, was one of the most productive freshmen in the country through nine games. He was averaging 19.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists and had back-to-back double-doubles to start his career against Notre Dame and UNC Wilmington.
North Carolina has dropped three straight games, including Sunday's home loss to Wofford without Anthony, after starting the season 6-1. The Tar Heels lost by 25 points to Ohio State earlier this month, scored 47 points in a road loss at Virginia, then hit rock bottom with the defeat to Wofford. They head to Spokane, Washington, on Wednesday for a road game at No. 2 Gonzaga, and then face UCLA in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Anthony is expected to be one-and-done in college and is ranked No. 4 in ESPN's NBA draft rankings.
Without Anthony, North Carolina started former walk-on K.J. Smith at point guard against Wofford, and freshmen Jeremiah Francis and Anthony Harris saw minutes off the bench. Both Francis and Harris missed the first eight games of the season due to injury.
