#4?

Fox Sports recently ranked the top 10 coaches in the nation right now. Ol’ Roy comes in at 4, with Coach K, Rick Pitino, and Tom Izzo all ahead of him.

Now I really don’t think this list is very accurate, but I am biased. I’m not sure what the basis is on this at all, but the only one who maybe has an argument to be better that Coach Williams is Coach K, and that’s only because of Duke’s dominance in the late 90’s and early part of this decade. As much as I don’t like Coach K, I have to respect the wins and what he has done over the years. Lately he has lost his mojo and that’s ok with me, but he could arguably be first on this list.

Rick Pitino is a good coach and has done a good job with Louisville, but he really hasn’t bee a true power like he was in Kentucky. Yes, it takes some time to build up a program, but we all saw how Louisville did with the overall #1 in this year’s tournament. CHOKE! Pitino is a good coach; I like his style and he has won a championship, but I can’t really think of any reason to put him at #2 ahead of Williams.

Tom Izzo might be the easiest one to remove from ahead of Williams because they just played head-to-head twice this year, and both times Michigan State ended up scratching their heads in wonder and Coach Williams and his team destroyed them. If Tom Izzo was a better coach that Roy, Michigan State would be National Champs and not UNC. Tom Izzo is known for getting the most out of his teams and I respect him, but he is not better than Roy Williams.

If we went by National Championships this decade, it would be easy to list these coaches; if we went with National Championships overall this list would be easy. I don’t buy into the talk that Roy Williams is only a good recruiter and an average coach. I say he’s a great recruiter and a good coach. I think he’s a better recruiter, if not the best, but he still had to be a good coach to teach and instruct the players in the ways of North Carolina basketball. And bottom line is that he is probably a better mentor than anyone on this list. I don’t hear too many Duke players praising Coach K for being a good friend to them.

As I have said before, Coach Williams has my respect as a coach. I do not always understand what he is doing, but I trust him because of everything he has done in just six years. Rarely will I question him and when I do, it is because I don’t understand why, but he has a method to his madness. Another thing I try and remember is that he has won more games that I have and knows what he is doing and knows his team far better than I do. Coach Williams, you may not be #1 on this list that you don’t care about anyway, but you’re #1 in my book. In Roy We Trust.