Williams: Best Ever?

Recruiter? Yes. Coach? Possibly. Hersey you cry! Ah, but what if Ol' Roy comes through with another title? That would make it Dean Smith -2; Roy Williams - 3. At the rate that Williams keeps bringing in top 5 classes, it seems a good possibility that Coach Williams will be able to one-up his mentor in the next few years (maybe even this one).

I bring this up because Any Katz had a sit-down interview with the current Tar Heel coach to discuss the possibility of winning another championship. Roy being his typical humble self said that he doesn't like to think in those type of scenarios, and that he and Smith don't belong in the same sentence, but the fact is that this will probably become a reality in the next five years.

Now, please do not think that I am disrespecting Coach Smith in any way shape or form. I have great respect for the man, but probably not the same amount that older fans have for him. That's only because I didn't truly follow until after he was gone, unfortunately. But I think he is a great coach; one of the all-time greats. I love that he put Carolina basketball on the map. I love that he took the Duke/UNC rivalry to another level. I love the fact that he had players thank the passer. Coach Smith did a lot of great things on and off the court and certainly deserves to have his name attached to the home of the Tar Heels, but Ol' Roy is cementing his own legacy as Katz put it.

Coach Williams has said that he will coach as long as his health holds up. Knowing he doesn't have too many pains, besides a bad back (we all know it's because of the stance in the picture above) and suffering from vertigo occasionally, it's reasonable to expect him to coach for 10 more years. Let's say that for those 10 years, he averages a modest 25 wins per year. My multiplication skills tell me that is 250 wins. Add that to his already 594 (Yeah, seems like he just got his 500th a year ago) and that puts him at 844 while Smith sits at 879. Only 35 wins between the two. Since returning to North Carolina, Williams has averaged 29 wins for 6 years. So if he stays on that pace, that puts him at 290 for 10 years and that puts him at 884. Granted, Smith did this all in one school, but one must give credit where credit is due. Credit goes to Williams.

I'm not saying he is better or will be better that Dean Smith because for all we know, he could have a scandal tomorrow and be out of coaching, but I am saying that he is certainly building his resume to rival Smith. I know that he is not trying to out-due his mentor, but he is certainly keeping pace with him. The only question is what will they name after Williams when it's all said and done? Roy's Roof? Williams Court? Hansbrough Indoor Stadium? Oh, sorry!

I'm very thankful for the job Roy Williams has done and will continue to do. He is a real character coach and has made a big impact on lots of players out there.

You Stay Classy

There is something my wife noticed this season about North Carolina. She’s somewhat of a sports fan, but not huge, but she will always faithfully watch games with me, even when the games are boring because North Carolina is up by 20. And she does care about North Carolina, so don’t think she watches just to be with me.

But one thing that drives her insane is when coaches or players yell at the refs and don’t stop. Now Roy has yelled at refs, but he does not go off and get a technical just to prove him point (or at least I can’t recall him doing that). But some coaches and players just don’t shut it when it comes to officiating. I have some gripes with officials too, but I can drop it because they can’t hear me yelling through the TV.

The point of this article is class. North Carolina has it; other schools do not. A lot of the classiness has come from Dean Smith, which I appreciate. I didn’t follow North Carolina during the Dean Smith years because I was young, but anyone who is a fan knows that Dean Smith was classy.

North Carolina beams classiness to me. Pointing to the passer is classy because it shows players to recognize that they couldn’t have done anything without the passer. The jerseys are classy because we have two kinds and that’s it, while a team like Oregon has one for every week.

Another classy area that I like is the attire. Players wear coats and ties to and from games. Not all universities do that. Roy Williams always has a suit and tie, except in Maui or when he gets mad and throws his jacket on the ground. I like that. I don’t like Mike Brey, the Notre Dame coach, who wears the jacket, but just a shirt underneath it, and I especially hate the polo with the jacket (Al Skinner). UGLY. I’m glad Coach Williams dresses and has his players dress professionally because North Carolina is a professional institution.

Another reason I appreciate the classiness of North Carolina is that when students or fans start making a chant, like to Clemson “you can’t win here” – yes it brings a smile to my face, but Coach Williams is always quick to get on the mic and tell students to stow it because he won’t put up with it. Also, you won’t see anything like Speedo Man in the stands of the Smith Center making obscene gestures towards players.

You can go to school, but you can’t buy class. That statement is so true and North Carolina has built up its legacy and maintained classiness all around. You don’t hear of academic problems, recruiting violations, or anything like that at North Carolina and I know you won’t as long as Roy Williams is around. So, you stay classy North Carolina.

Interview with a Coach

Sporting News recently did an interview with Roy Williams. You can read the full interview here. If you can't tell Roy Williams is a student of Dean Smith, then you need to be pegged on the head with a tac hammer because Dean was humble and Roy also exuberates humbleness in deferring several times about where he ranks among the greatest coaches, his place on the all time wins list, and being the #2 coach behind not only Dean Smith, but also Phog Allen at Kansas. Williams also mentions that his toughest loss is 97 loss to Arizona (I know for me, it's the UNC/Kansas Final Four game), so hopefully that loss remains his toughest loss.

Roy also mentions about how thick-skinned he is, which you probably need in order to coach at any level. I have defended, and will continue to defend Roy Williams unless he does something complete out of character, which is hard to envision that happening. But it's nice to know that he doesn't get swayed by public opinion and he probably does not read as much as the fans do about his coaching and decisions. As Williams has said before, he does not care too much for technology, so he probably does not read most of the articles out there on the internet about him.

Williams goes on to talk about how big an impact that Tyler Hansbrough has left on the program and coaches alike. I believe that very much so and know that there will not be another player like Tyler Hansbrough in the UNC program. He is amazing and so is Roy Williams.