You knew not to expect UVA guard Justin Anderson to immediately be the All-America candidate that he was before he went down to injury on Feb. 7.
Anderson, a 6’6” junior, finally made his return on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, playing 12 minutes off the bench.
His stat line was almost a flat line: he was 0-for-2 from the field with two rebounds, a turnover and a personal foul.
Anderson played nine minutes in the first half, just three in the second, subbing out with 11:12 to go.
It was about what coach Tony Bennett expected.
“Yeah, I mean, he hasn’t played for 32 days he’s been out. So I was so thankful that he could be out there,” said Bennett.
The game plan with Anderson going forward: “I told him, we’re going to use you some short stints and see what you can do.”
“Of course he looked rusty, of course, he’s going to have certain things. But my hope is next time he’s out there, he’s better, and you just kind of have to go through that,” Bennett said.
A pall fell over the UVA fan section in the first half when Anderson was knocked to the floor on a driving layup attempt. He lay motionless on the floor for a few seconds before bounding up and sprinting to the bench.
Bennett admitted being “concerned” for a moment when Anderson was on the floor.
Expect to see more of Anderson in Friday’s semifinals.
“Hopefully we can get more and he can continue to get sharper. That’s why it was a good win for us,” Bennett said.
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Chris Graham
