It didn’t take Marvin Williams long to buy into what Roy Williams wanted from him.
One of the most sought after high school players in the nation before going to North Carolina, Williams, the player, would have started on probably every other team in the nation. But his coach had other ideas, not because the freshman forward from Bremerton, WA, wasn’t good enough, but it was a matter of chemistry.
UNC’s older players had been through a tough time during their Carolina careers, especially the senior class that had to endure the program’s worst season ever – an 8-20 mark in 2002 – and Matt Doherty at the helm during their first two years before Williams came over from Kansas. Carolina was national title good and the head man knew it, and he also knew affecting chemistry could have cost the Tar Heels a shot at the title.
So, the 6-foot-9 gifted newcomer came off the bench.
“It was kind of tough at first, but I accepted it easily,” Williams said the day before UNC defeated Michigan State in the 2005 Final Four in St. Louis. “It was something Coach wanted me to do and was best for our team… I wanted to come to North Carolina to win a national championship. I'd rather be on the bench and win a national championship.”
And they did. Carolina defeated Illinois in the title game giving the coach his first of three national championships and Williams the player a spot in Carolina for his impact on that team but also how he handled himself and accepting a role a lot of other phenoms would have balked at.
Marvin Williams played one season (2004-05) for the Tar Heels, but what a season it was.
He averaged 11.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while only playing 22 minutes per game off the bench.
He was selected as the 2005 ACC Rookie of the Year and USBWA Freshman of the Year. Williams scored in double figures in 15 of UNC’s final 23 games, a stretch that began when the ACC part of the schedule started. He went for 20 points in a win over N.C. State and 20 in each of UNC’s first two NCAA Tournament wins over Oakland and Iowa State. Williams also grabbed 15 rebounds versus the Cyclones. He also had 16 in a 67-66 win over Villanova in the Sweet 16.
“That kid was just so gifted,” Sean May said a few years ago about Williams. “He could do just about everything on the court… But he was also a great teammate, and that’s one of the reasons we won the championship.”
Williams’ most memorable individual sequence as a Tar Heel came after Raymond Felton missed the second of two free throws with 19.4 seconds and Carolina trailing Duke at the Smith Center. Williams grabbed the loose ball after a scram for the rebound, turned toward the basket and awkwardly banked in a shot from about seven feet with 17 seconds left.
Williams was fouled by Patrick Johnson and hit the free throw for a 75-73 lead before Duke’s J.J. Redick and Daniel Ewing missed shots, the last of which was rebounded by May, his 24th of the game. The Heels trailed by nine points with 2:45 left and outscored Duke 11-0 to close the game with Williams scoring five of the points.
A member of the Charlotte Hornets, Williams was back in Chapel Hill last October for an exhibition game and was asked why it meant so much to him to play for Roy Williams, even if it was just for a year.
“What meant the most to me was just to play for Coach,” he replied. “It was incredible to play for this university and represent this university, but I really wanted to play for coach Williams, and I think that is what meant the most to me.”
Williams was the No. 2 pick in the first round of the 2005 NBA draft and has played 14 seasons in the league. He’s averaged 10.5 points per game over his 1,014-game career along with 5.3 rebounds.
His total numbers are 29,030 minutes played, 10,622 points, 5,363 rebounds, 1,313 assists, 788 steals, 547 blocked shots, 990 made 3-pointers and 827 starts.
