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Ranking Roy's Teams

Roy Williams has coached 16 teams since returning to UNC and THI has ranked them in order 1-16.
Roy Williams has coached 16 teams since returning to UNC and THI has ranked them in order 1-16. (USA Today)

Roy Williams has been back at North Carolina for 16 years, so since it’s the fourth of July and we wanted something fun on the site, here are all 16 of his UNC teams ranked 1-16.

It should be understood this is not an exercise to prove anything, and certainly not to criticize those clubs near the bottom of the list, but more to just have some fun and give you guys something to be involved in, as we want your rankings, as well.

So here are Roy’s teams, 1-16:


No. 16 – 2010 (20-17 overall, 5-11 ACC, NIT runner up)

The only UNC team under Williams to not reach the NCAA Tournament, this club had talent but lacked chemistry, suffered a lot of injuries and just never got it going.


No. 15 – 2004 (19-11 overall, 8-8 ACC, NCAA 2nd Round)

Williams’ first team at UNC was certainly talented but coming off the tumultuous Matt Doherty run and there was an awful lot of work for Williams to do aside from just coaching basketball. A foundation was built, though, for the following season.


No. 14 – 2013 (25-11 overall, 12-6 ACC, NCAA 3rd Round)

Remember the NCAA renamed its first few rounds for several seasons, so the Heels actually went out in what we generally consider the second round. This was actually a pretty good team that had some really nice runs. But someone has to be No. 14, so these guys fill the slot.


No. 13 – 2015 (26-12 overall, 11-7 ACC, NCAA Sweet 16)

By the end of the season, this was a very dangerous club, and capitalized on that run by winning 33 games the following season and reaching the national title game. But, 12 losses and an 11-7 mark in the ACC keeps this group at No. 13.


No. 12 – 2006 (23-8 overall, 12-4 ACC, NCAA 2nd Round)


Tyler Hansbrough’s freshman season was really one of Williams’ great coaching jobs. The leading returning scorer from the 2005 national championship team was David Noel at 3.9 points per game, but the Heels turned in a very nice season.


No. 11 – 2018 (26-11 overall, 11-7 ACC, NCAA 2nd Round)

This was another outstanding job by Williams, as he got everything out of this group. It beat Duke twice and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the Heels wore down and just didn’t have enough inside.


No. 10 – 2014 (24-10 overall, 13-5 ACC, NCAA 3rd Round)

Aside from Marcus Paige’s best season, the Tar Heels boasted a roster of guys that either hadn’t come into their own yet or were nice-but-unspectacular players. They still had a very good year and some an important foundation was being laid for what was to later come.


No. 9 – 2011 (29-8 overall, 14-2 ACC, NCAA Elite Eight)

This team ranked as the ninth best Williams has coached at UNC illustrates just how fantastic the Hall of Fame coach has been. This club was outstanding by the end of the season and could have won a national title had it not fouled up the last few minutes of the regional final.


No. 8 – 2019 (29-7 overall, 16-2 ACC, NCAA Sweet 16)

There were times when this squad was almost as good as the top few despite its roster composition. Again, another incredible job by Williams having these Heels as a No. 1 seed and favored by some to win the national title.


No. 7- 2007 (31-7 overall, 11-5, NCAA Elite Eight)


A young but terrific team that should have at least reached the Final Four. Starting three freshmen in Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Brandan Wright, Carolina also had Tyler Hansbrough as a sophomore in the lineup. Two years later, most of this group finished their business.


No. 6 – 2016 (33-7 overall, 14-4 ACC, NCAA Runner-Up)

To think that it took a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to beat these guys in the national championship game yet its ranked sixth in this series speaks volumes. Marcus Paige’s amazing shot just before that other shot, Brice Johnson’s incredible senior season, and the foundation for the redemption tour made this an awfully fun and outstanding team.


No. 5 – 2012 (32-6 overall, 14-2 ACC, NCAA Elite Eight)

The cruel reality is this team could have challenged for the top spot had Kendall Marshall not been injured against Creighton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Carolina was outstanding that season, maybe the best team in the nation, and if not it was the second best club in the land. But, the Heels couldn’t overcome not having Marshall while John Henson battled an injury, too, and UNC fell to Kansas in the regional final


No. 4 – 2008 – 36-3 overall, 14-2 ACC, Final Four)

Perhaps because this team didn’t win it all and has the stain of the 40-12 deficit to Kansas in the Final Four on its resume, but it belongs in the discussion as one of the best UNC teams to not win a national title. They were a borderline great team. It was Tyler Hansbrough’s best season and as a whole this group was worthy of winning it all.


No. 3 – 2017 (33-7 overall, 14-4 ACC, National Champions)

Some might argue the 2008 or 2012 teams were actually better and that may be the case, but this club won it all, and did so a year after losing the title game on a buzzer beater. That makes this perhaps the greatest team story ever in UNC’s fabled history. Oh, and they were talented, superbly coached and maybe had the best chemistry of any team this scribe has covered.


No. 2 – 2005 (33-4 overall, 14-2 ACC, National Champions)

People forget what a great coaching job Williams did getting this team on the same page, especially Rashad McCants. Say what you will about the stuff McCants has said and done since he left UNC, but if Williams doesn’t get him to buy in enough, this club doesn’t win it all. Also, Sean May’s play over the second half to the season was as well as any Heel has ever played over a long period.


No. 1 – 2009 (34-4 overall, 13-3 ACC, National Champions)

There were times during the course of the season this team was a bit bored waiting for the postseason to arrive to settle its unfinished business. When that time came, though, the Heels bought in defensively and cruised to the national title becoming the first team to win every game by double digits and annihilating Michigan State in the title game. One can argue this was the last great team in college basketball to win it all.

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