Injuries, injuries and more injuries played a huge factor in North Carolina’s struggles this past season.

The top three scorers on the roster – Cole Anthony, Garrison Brooks and Brandon Robinson - missed a total of 21 games through injury and only played together in 13, nine in which none of them were either coming off an injury or getting dinged up. Even more staggering, UNC players that were expected to be in the rotation missed a combined 101 games due to injury, the most in the Roy Williams era, surpassing the previous mark of 64 in 2010.

“We had injuries that really kept us in a flux the whole time,” Williams said during a virtual press conference on Apr. 7. “The worst practice scenario we've ever had about guys being in and out, in and out.”

It was a season to forget for the Tar Heels, who finished 14-19 overall and 6-14 in the ACC, and turning things around next year is obviously the top priority for everyone involved with the program. In order to do so, the Heels need to be healthy again, and that’s one of primary focuses for Williams and his staff during the off-season.

One player hard to get back on the court is Anthony Harris. The freshman guard missed the first eight games of his debut season while recovering from a knee injury that forced him to miss most of his senior season in high school, and then played in just five contests before tearing his right ACL in the win over Yale on Dec. 30.

Harris is currently in the middle of his rehab process, but with the COVID-19 pandemic closing the university and sports in general across the globe, Harris can’t work with the medical staff in Chapel Hill like he usually would.

This means the Woodbridge, VA, native is having to rehab on his own with the virtual guidance of head athletic trainer Doug Halverson. It’s far from ideal, but it’s his reality for the foreseeable future.

“Doug is (meeting) with him daily and still talking about what he needs to be doing,” Williams said. “There's no way in the world it's as good as if it would be if they were in the Smith Center in the trainer's room or in the weight room, but I think that Anthony has really started off with such a great job that his situation, he has already seen the fruits of his hard work, and so I think he'll continue that as well.”

Harris is expected to be a full go around the time practice begins in September.

Sterling Manley continues working back from an on-going knee issue that cost him all of this past season and much of his sophomore campaign. Manley, who had surgery last December to repair cartilage in his left knee and played just nine minutes over the last three months of the previous season.

“I think Doug even told me (April 7) that he had talked to Sterling and Sterling was doing well,” Williams said.

Leaky Black struggled with recurring injuries last season, too. From a thumb problem to a sprained right ankle to turf toe, which hampered him the most, Black missed just one game, but he was never healthy.

And, while Williams wants Black to improve multiple elements of his game, getting healthy is his No. 1 priority between now and November.

“Leaky, stay healthy,” Williams said. “We want him to be able to play multiple positions because I think that’s so important to him. But if there’s one thing, and it’s no question it’s not a surprise to anybody, (he’s) gotta be able to make outside shots. And also use his athleticism more than he does and I think that he could be the best (perimeter) defender in all of college basketball if he would slide his feet better and use his athleticism.”

Jeremiah Francis, who missed the final two seasons of his high school career because of a knee injury, also missed time and was in and out of the lineup last season as he continues battling discomfort. Some days are worse than others. And Andrew Platek missed two games with a sprained ankle.

Grad transfer Christian Keeling was the only rotation player to not miss a game.

The injury bug plagued the Heels in what was Williams’ worst ever season as a head coach and getting of his players fully healthy again is at the top of the Hall of Famer’s off-season to-do list.