Virginia head coach Tony Bennett told ESPN’s Allison Williams on Thursday that Justin Anderson will be in uniform and will play in their ACC tournament quarterfinal game.
He won’t start and he won’t play extended minutes, but he will be available, which is huge for Virginia.
Anderson has had some awful luck over the course of the last month. While in the middle of an All American-caliber season, Anderson had to undergo surgery on a fractured finger on his shooting hand in early February. He was on track to return last Saturday against Louisville when he had to undergo an appendectomy.
I mean, come on.
But he’s apparently ready to get back on the floor now, and while he likely won’t have a huge impact on Virginia’s run in the ACC tournament, getting him reps -- in practice and in game -- will help ensure that Anderson has his rhythm, his touch and his timing back by the time that Virginia really gets tested this month.
As I explained here, the Cavs are one of the teams most likely to be able to beat Kentucky this season, but not only need Anderson to be healthy to make that happen, they need him playing -- and shooting -- like he was pre-injury.