CHAPEL HILL – Amid his parade of dadgums and frickins, folksy deliveries that have given us “Chicken Little,” “Tough little nut” and “God Almighty” with a deep drawl, and chiding the media we don’t really know much about basketball, Roy Williams has delivered many other masterpieces in only ways he can.
Williams has often said he’s just a great imitator, nothing else. Dean Smith, his mentor and North Carolina legend, may have influenced the sport of basketball more than anyone since James Naismith came up with the idea in 1891, and Williams has yielded to the man he has as much reverence for as anyone this side of Buddy Baldwin.
But Williams’ place in the lore of this great sport is in line with Smith. Not just because he passed him in victories Saturday, as the Tar Heels defeated Miami, 94-71, at the arena named for his mentor, giving Williams 880 career victories to Smith’s 879, but because he truly is Smith’s equal.
Ol’ Roy may not like this next line, but one could make a cogent argument he’s a tad better than Dean was, recent losing skid notwithstanding. But, let’s not go down that lane, at least for now.
Williams took much from Smith and applied it to his own programs at Kansas and now UNC. You can see it from how practice is conducted, the notebooks, the secondary break, and myriad other things. He’s also a gentleman who is very real: What you see is what you get.
Some in the national media have at times asked if the Ol’ Roy stuff is just a front for someone or something else. Maybe they think behind the curtain he’s a very different man who isn't so folksy.
The response each time, and this is with 17 years of covering him in Chapel Hill and having spoken to numerous people over time who know a thing or two about him, Williams is exactly the person we see. Roy is Roy, or rather, Ol’ Roy is Ol’ Roy.
And if you want to be fair and accurate, he’s one of the funniest coaches this scribe has covered over a 24-year career and he’s absolutely one of the greatest college basketball coaches the game has ever seen.
Wanna go a step further? He’s one of the greatest team sports coaches American sports has ever seen.
There. Said it.
To those who are inclined, bring on the backlash. But it’s true.
The numbers simply do not lie. But, in case you’re doubting this or have the disposition to embrace it, chills and all, Roy’s resume illustrates the special and rare rent district he now resides:
*9 ACC regular season titles in 16-plus (he's currently in his 17th) seasons; 513 of 590 weeks his teams have been ranked, 379 in the top 10, to-five spots in 249 polls and 58 weeks at No. 1; averaged 28.1 wins per season, the most of any coach with 800 or more victories; 2007 inductee into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
*Second all-time in NCAA Tournament games (105), wins (79) and with 13 No. 1 seeds, including 10 at UNC. He’s third all-time in Final Four wins (9) and championship game appearances (6) and is fourth in Final Four appearances (9) and national championships (3).
And let this little nugget sink in, too:
Naismith invented the game and coached Phog Allen who coached Smith at Kansas and Smith mentored Williams. One, two, three, four!
Roy Williams is a fourth-generation direct descendant of the man who invented the frickin – had to say it – sport.
He’s hoops royalty and deserves his own crown.
Ol’ Roy might prefer none of this is said or written about him. He’d probably rather just move on and get his team ready for the trip to Raleigh on Monday night looking for win number 10 of this disappointing season. But we can appreciate him and what he’s accomplished and we will.
This scribe covered Smith in his last season and Mike Krzyzewski and Duke for 13 years. Williams is in their class. He’s not in the back with his head on the desk, he’s up front sitting upright with many of the answers.
With 880 wins in the books, who knows how many more wins he will get, but he truly is one tough little nut, so it probably will be many, many more.
