It may come off as insincere to some, or even corny or cliched, but Roy Williams really doesn’t spend any time thinking about North Carolina’s upcoming games aside from the very next one.

With UNC visiting Clemson on Tuesday night and after that is a trip to Duke on Saturday, he really doesn’t have the sport’s top rivalry on his mind one iota. He was even asked during Monday’s weekly ACC conference call about what it will be like playing college basketball’s most anticipated game of the year this weekend with no fans in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Williams was true to form, which is true to who he absolutely is. He’s not looking ahead. Never has and never will.

“I’m not looking ahead to Saturday,” Williams replied. “I’m not trying to be cruel or anything, but I don’t give a blankety blank about Saturday. We’ve got Clemson (Tuesday night).”

So, if anyone is inclined to gauge Williams’ thoughts on how his team may play over the next month, especially after going 6-1 in January and showing signs it has turned the corner, forget about it. He’s not biting because there’s nothing to chew on.

“It’s old school and it’s a cliché, but I really do just look at the next game,” he said. “When you get to this point in the season, you start thinking ‘how many road games left, how many home games left, who are you playing?’

You do that a little but more when you get into the season when you’re trying to win, especially if you’re lucky enough to get through the first part of your season and have a chance to win the conference race.”

Last week, the Hall of Fame coach rejected any notion his team has turned the corner, another adage that is true to form as well. He is never satisfied, so wondering about his contentment is a waste of time, and asking him about his is always a fruitless venture.

The Tar Heels are 11-5 overall and 6-3 in the ACC heading into a dangerous game at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers are 10-5 and 4-5, but were 9-1 and ranked No. 12 in the nation a few weeks ago. That was prior to coming out of a COVID pause that appears to have affected Brad Brownell’s team more than any other in the nation.

Clemson is 1-4 since the pause, and its four losses have been by an average of 25.3 points. It is also averaging scoring just 56.6 points in all five games, with the win 54-50 triumph at home over Louisville last week.

So, don’t ask Williams about anything other than Clemson. Not about what his team must do to get into the NCAA Tournament or about seeding or perhaps the top rivalry in American sports. He’s not going there. Not even about how his team might play moving forward.

“It’s a good question and is one I struggle with probably more than any other coach,” Williams said, before regaling a story about UCLA’s legendary coach who led the Bruins to 10 national championships. “John Wooden one time told me that he’d take the schedule out before the season started and marked down which one he thought he could win and lose, and he’d seal it up and put it in his envelop in his desk.

“And I said, ‘Do you ever look at it,’ and he said, ‘No, not until the end of the season and I would get it out.’ And I said, ‘Most of the time, you just put down a W next to everything.’ I’ve never really looked down the line very much at all.”

Except at the next game.

And for the Tar Heels that’s Tuesday at Clemson. And the mission, still not what some may expect. He wants to win, obviously, but the greater goal fuels the bigger picture.

“Right now, we’re tying to get better every single day,” Williams said. “Today is practice, tomorrow is the game. Alright, let’s get better during the game. And that’s what we talk about more than just trying to foresee what may happen down the stretch.”

Exactly. The Duke game might be five days away, but to Williams it might as well be five months away. It isn’t on his radar.