NFL
By: Allan Erickson
I’ll never forget the excitement my father had when Roy Williams accepted the head coaching vacancy at the University of North Carolina back in 2003. It was a joyous occasion, one that every Tar Heel basketball fan was feeling at the time. My father explained to me Roy’s background, where he came from. More importantly, he explained that UNC finally found the right person to fill the void, to revitalize the program, to follow in the footsteps of the great Dean Smith.
For the first time in my life, I was doubting my father. Truly, there could never be another coach to fill the shoes of Dean Smith. Someone to walk the sidelines and demand greatness at UNC, while keeping the values that Dean brought to the program. Things like starting your seniors on senior night, even if you’re playing Duke. Knowing how important winning is to UNC faithful, and carrying on the legacy of Smith’s kind, caring, mentoring nature. 18 years, 3 National Championships, 5 Final Fours, and countless other accomplishments later, here we are- saying goodbye to the legendary Roy Williams.
Roy Williams immediately restored greatness to the Carolina basketball program. What gets overlooked when discussing Roy, is how phenomenal a human being he is. When I was a student at UNC, I would always schedule my exercises around Roy’s schedule. I only got to speak to him personally once while on campus, but it was a moment I’ll never forget. The man truly didn’t realize how revered he was by everyone who associates with the University of North Carolina. His humility is second to none. He told me, when we did speak personally, “son, I appreciate you being a fan, and congratulations on living your dream of being a Tar Heel. That being said, I’m living my dream too, and I’m just a basketball coach.”
Since 2003, one coach, one program, one university, has won 3 National Championships- Roy Williams, UNC basketball. Williams coached and recruited countless Tar Heel legends. Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Zeller, Kendall Marshall, Marvin Williams, Reggie Bullock, Joel Berry, John Henson, Luke Maye, Joel Berry, and Kennedy Meeks. There are so many “new-era” Tar Heels that came to UNC because Roy Williams was at the helm. He never wanted to be compared to Dean Smith. However, the accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves. This is a man who picked up a program that, for a brief period of time, was in shambles. The Tar Heels needed a savior, someone to right the ship, and get us back to the premier program we’ve been for the past 40 years. It couldn’t have been anybody other than Roy Williams.
At his retirement press conference, Roy said numerous times that “he doesn’t feel like the best man for the job.” While that may be the case now; it couldn’t have been further from the truth back in 2003. We will never see ol Roy on the sidelines again. We’ll never see him dancing in the locker room with his players like a fool, after a big victory. We’ll never see him attempt to be young and hip, trying to understand the vernacular of today’s youth. That being said, from one Tar Heel to another, this program will not be the same without you. It’s a feeling that we felt when Dean Smith left. We have to go find someone who’s going to be able to fill your shoes. And while he never wanted to be compared to Dean, this feels all too familiar to Tar Heel Nation.
Transition is never easy. All my life I’ve been a Tar Heel fan, and for the last 48 seasons, Ol Roy has been a basketball coach. Life will be different for all of us, without Roy Williams on the sideline. There was just something special about the way he handled himself. The way he went about post-game interviews, answering questions, talking to all of the kids he could both in Dean Dome and in terms of those wandering about the UNC campus looking for an opportunity to speak with the legend. We’ll wake up, and life will go on, but UNC basketball will never be the same without Roy Williams.
I sincerely hope that Roy enjoys his next endeavor in life, whatever that may be. What I really want, is for Roy Williams to truly realize how important he was to so many people. Not just UNC, not just Kansas, but the basketball community. A coach who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of college basketball coaches, but would never accept such a high honor because of his humility. It is with both sadness and optimism for the future that I write this article. This is truly a salute to the man who brought so much joy to so many people across the country.
When you talk about Carolina basketball, there are five names that should immediately come to mind. Dean Smith, Michael Jordan, Tyler Hansbrough, Phil Ford, and, yes, Roy Williams. Cheers to the man who came back home filled the shoes of his mentor and revitalized a program that was reeling after the loss of its most legendary figure. A man who will forever be stitched in college basketball greatness. He may not feel he deserves it. However, it was us, who didn’t deserve the greatness of Roy Williams.
For UNC fans, we need to take a step back; take a moment to realize how utterly blessed we were to have hall of famers run our program for so long. We have to realize the fact that Dean Smith and Roy Williams will now be forever linked to Tar Heel greatness. Sometimes we lose sight of someone’s accomplishments because of the recency bias. Roy Williams had a rough final two seasons on UNC’s sideline. Roy Williams was 485-163 as the Tar Heel head coach (74.8 win percentage.) Dean Smith had a 77.6 win percentage in his 36 year run as UNC’s head coach. Sure, we’ve all been arm-chair coaches. Fussing and yelling at Roy to call a timeout, wondering why certain players were getting playing time over others. There’s a saying I like to live by in life- men lie, women lie, numbers don’t. Those numbers indicate that Roy Williams knew what he was doing, and UNC fans need to realize how special and blessed we’ve been to have two of the most successful college basketball coaches of all-time running our program for such a long while. It’s been a blessing to get to watch both of these men run a program that I hold so near and dear to my heart. The truth is, we’ll miss Roy Williams like we miss Dean Smith. While this isn’t a goodbye to Roy, it is a standing ovation for his dedication, hard work, and humble nature, the things that made him such an easy man to cheer for. The only man who could’ve rescued UNC’s basketball program. The one and only, Dadgum Roy Williams. Cheers to you, coach!
