The men’s basketball team (6-15, 1-7 ASUN) has been under the instruction of assistant coaches since the turn of the new year as Anthony Boone recovers from heart surgery.

Boone had a successful procedure on Jan. 5, from which he is still recovering. This surgery fell at the height of basketball season, leaving the Bears to be coached by the rest of the coaching staff. 

Although the team wasn’t expecting Boone’s leave of absence, its players felt well-prepared to push forward without him for an uncertain amount of time. 

“Coach Boone has done a great job of building this program and preparing us along the way. We have great leaders in the locker room,” Coach Brock Widders said. 

With 21 games under its belt, the men’s basketball team has just 10 more conference games left.

Since Boone has been gone, the team has a 1-7 ASUN Conference record.

In Boone’s absence, Coaches Jeff Price, John Cranford and Widders have stepped up to lead the team. 

“I have complete confidence in our assistant coaches while he is away,” Brad Teague, UCA’s athletic director said.

Price has been with the Bears since July 2021. 

While he has only coached at UCA for one season, he has 30 years of prior coaching experience. 

Widders is an Arkansas native who has been at UCA since 2017, after graduating from Lyon College where he was captain of the basketball team for four years. 

Cranford has been with the Bears basketball team for four seasons.

 He was a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations during the first two, before his promotion to assistant coach in June 2021. 

As of now, there is no set return date for Boone.

 A safe and smooth recovery is of utmost importance to Boone and the basketball program, and while looking forward to having him back, Teague said they are currently playing it by ear. 

“Coach Boone is recovering well in the hospital. We are taking it day to day regarding his return,” Teague said. 

Boone’s career at UCA began in 2014 where he served as the associate head coach for six years. 

He stepped up to be the interim head coach in December 2019 and has never looked back. 

He leads the program with exceptional basketball experience as he was a hall-of-fame collegiate athlete at Ole Miss. 

Widders said Boone’s exceptional leadership is what the team misses most about him while is out for recovery.

“Missing our leader and friend is the biggest challenge we have faced…In the meantime, our group has decided that adversity will pull us together and not push us apart. We will work with a sense of urgency on the court and in the classroom. We look forward to getting some guys back from injury and making a push in conference play,” Widders said. 

As the Bears’ season continues without Boone, the team hopes to stick together and finish the season strong. 

The Bears’ next game is against the North Florida Ospreys at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26 in UCA’s Farris Center.