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CHAPEL HILL – Roy Williams will have his day Saturday, probably reluctantly so.
The retired former North Carolina basketball coach who led his alma mater to three national championships, a fourth NCAA title game appearance, and five Final Fours in 18 seasons will be honored at halftime of the Tar Heels’ game versus NC State at the Smith Center.
Williams retired last April after posting a 485-163 record at UNC, which included the Heels sharing or outright winning nine ACC regular season titles. He won three ACC Tournament crowns, and led UNC to a 45-13 record in the NCAA Tournament. No other program won more NCAA Tournament games during the 18 years Williams was at the helm. He also led UNC to 10 No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
So, the school will honor him not just for his coaching at UNC, but his career in the sport, which included a decade as an assistant under Dean Smith and then 15 years as the head coach at Kansas, in which he led the Jayhawks to a 418-101 record, two national title game appearances, three Final Fours, and led KU to a 34-14 record in NCAA play.
“It’s great that we’re honoring Coach Williams, but it’s not just a ceremony at halftime, it’s for a lifetime,” UNC Coach Hubert Davis said. “It’s just a number of things that not only for wins and losses, but the biggest impact that Coach Williams has made is on the lives of the players that he’s coached here and before he came here at Kansas.”
Williams is second all-time in college basketball in 30-win seasons (12) and fourth in 20-win seasons (29), has the most wins over No. 1-ranked teams in the AP poll (8) and averaged more wins per season (27.4) than any coach with 800 or more wins. His teams won 18 regular-season conference championships, tied for the fifth most all-time. He won national coach-of-the-year honors nine times (1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2017, 2019) and was the conference coach of the year nine times (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2011).
His teams were ranked in 84.4 percent of the AP polls, including 61.5 percent in the top 10 and 29 weeks at No. 1. His teams earned a No. 1 ranking in 13 seasons and in 18 years were ranked at least second in the nation. Williams won 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 games in fewer seasons than any coach in college basketball history. He finished with a 903-264 career record.
Only Kentucky, UNC, Duke, UCLA and Kansas have more NCAA Tournament wins than Williams. His teams went 29-1 in the first round, 19-10 in the second, 13-6 in the Sweet 16, 9-4 in the Elite 8, 6-3 in the national semifinals and 3-3 in the championship game.
“For me to be able to play for him is a one-in-a-lifetime kind of thing,” sophomore guard RJ Davis said. “He’s a Hall of Famer. I’ve learned a lot, he’s helped me grow, not just as a basketball player but also as a man. He’s given me advice when I needed it, and I’m just very thankful to have played for him, and for him to still be around.”
But Saturday is about more than just what Williams has done from a purely basketball perspective. The impact Williams had on Hubert Davis, who played at UNC from 1988-92, has lasted his entire lifetime.
“He was the one that has twice given me an opportunity and a chance,” Davis said. “He was the one who recruited me out of high school. He was the one that told Coach (Dean) Smith and Coach (Bill) Guthridge that he felt like I was good enough to play here. I really think his opinion swayed Coach Smith to offer me a scholarship.
“And then when I was with ESPN 10 years ago, he gave me a chance and gave me an opportunity, hired me as one of his assistants, and I got the chance to be an assistant under him for an unbelievable nine years. And then his support for being the next head coach.”
RJ Davis, who played last season for Williams, views his former coach as more than just a guy who taught him how to play the game. When asked what first comes to mind about Williams off the court, the White Plains, NY, native didn’t hesitate in his response.
“Mentor,” he replied. “He’s someone I feel like I can go to if I needed something that doesn’t require basketball. Even if it’s just to get a laugh out of him. He has his way of making sure that you’re good, physically but also mentally.”
The 1982 UNC team that won the national championship is having its 40th reunion this weekend and will also be honored during the game versus the Wolfpack. Williams was an assistant on that team, as well.
UNC and NC State tip off at 2 PM and the game will air on the ACC Network.
*Some of this report came from UNC Athletics Communications.
