Biography of Carolina Basketball Coach Roy Williams

Roy Williams returning back home to the University of North Carolina was one of the happiest moments of my life. As a longtime and avid Carolina Tar Heel fan, I had been disappointed in the seasons just prior to 2003 with the lack of success under Bill Guthridge and Matt Doherty. As much respect as I had for Coach Dean Smith, I feel that Roy Williams is quickly restoring the legacy that was lost for a few years at the University of North Carolina. As you'll see from this biography, the road to getting Roy back was bumpy but the map was laid out a long time ago.

Roy Williams is a North Carolina guy. He spent most of his childhood in the Western North Carolina town of Asheville. He attended T.C. Roberson High School where he played basketball and baseball. Williams was quite the young athlete, earning all-county and all-conference honors in basketball. This eventually led him to the University of North Carolina, where he continued his basketball play with the JV team. He also studied under Coach Dean Smith, a true innovator of the game. Roy Williams graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1972 with a degree in education.

His first coaching job came quickly after graduation as the high school basketball coach for Charles D. Owen High School in Swannanoa, North Carolina. After five years, he left the high school platform and returned by the side of Dean Smith as an assistant coach. North Carolina saw tremendous success when Williams was on the bench, boasting a record of 275-61 during his tenure.

Roy Williams left the assistant coach position at Carolina after ten years and was offered a position to replace Larry Brown at the University of Kansas. The groundwork began. Roy Williams immediately saw success with the program. His statistics with the University of Kansas are incredible. During his fifteen seasons, his winning percentage was .805, averaging nearly 28 wins per season. He won nine regular season conference championships. In 2000, Roy Williams was given the opportunity to return to North Carolina after Bill Guthridge, a longtime assistant under Dean Smith, left the head coaching job. For days, there were news reports that Williams had accepted the position, but Dan Rather can tell you that it's not good to speculate before a decision is actually reached. As it turns out, Williams held a press conference where he announced he'd be staying the University of Kansas. The road to Carolina would have to wait until then. In the 2001 season, Kansas was the first team in its conference to post a perfect record of 16-0 in regular league play. In 2002, Kansas led the nation in FG percentage and scoring and was a defensive powerhouse.

The year 2003 turned out to be a great one for Coach Williams and the Kansas Jayhawks. He took the team to the NCAA Championship Game where they faced an eager Syracuse team led by freshman Carmelo Anthony. Kansas lost a close one in the game at a score of 81-78. I can clearly remember the interview directly following the loss and Roy Williams was headed to the locker room. After a heartbreaking loss, Coach Williams was not prepared to answer questions regarding the coaching vacancy after Matt Doherty's firing from the University of North Carolina. His comment following the question was priceless and summarizes the type of person Williams is: "The guy in your ear that told you that you had to ask the question. As a journalist it's fine, but as a human being that's not very nice, and I've got to think that in tough times that people should be more sensitive. I could give a sh** about Carolina right now. I've got 13 kids in that locker room that I love."

After Williams got over the heartbreak, he did realize he cared about Carolina. Shortly after the loss in the championship game and with much debate, Roy Williams decided to return to his home state to take on the best coaching position in the country. In 2003, he packed his bags up and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When he took over the job, Carolina just a few years prior had seen one of its worst seasons in over thirty years. The team had great talent, but they needed an even better coach to guide the way, something Doherty had failed on in the past. In just the second season, Roy Williams coached the Tar Heel team to a National Championship in 2005.

Soon after, Coach Williams lost seven of his top scorers and it made things difficult. Critics said that the 2005-2006 season would be highly unsuccessful due to the lack of scoring firepower, but the team, under his guidance, had a fairly successful season. That year he was named the Coach of the Year. It was his second Coach of the Year award. His first came in 1992 during the coaching job at Kansas.

This year's Carolina team shows even more promise, currently ranked fifth in the nation and loaded with talent. Coach Williams has already secured his legacy in the Carolina books and only time will show that he could be the best college basketball coach in history.