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When you mention this man’s name, you indeed are talking about one of the most respected coaches in all of college basketball. He has achieved a list of milestones that few ever have the pleasure of reaching. To name a few, Williams was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of fame in 2007. Not a small feat when you stop and think about it. He won 500 games faster than any coach in major college history and that includes the greats Dean Smith and John Wooden. So with said, lets take a quick journey to see how it all began.

North Carolina Tarheels Coach Roy Williams – The Beginning

Born and raised in North Carolina, Williams spent the majority of his youth in Ashville, N.C. He attended T.C Robertson High School where he not only lettered in basketball for 4 years, but was also a standout baseball player. Upon graduation, Williams made the choice to attend UNC, and was good enough to make the UNC Junior Varsity Basketball Team. But more importantly, this is where Williams began to study the coaching techniques of the legendary Dean Smith. Williams would study the practices taking notes, volunteer to keep the teams stats and even helped out at Smith’s basketball camps. After Williams received his Masters degree in education form UNC in 1973, he accepted a job as basketball and golf coach from a small high school in Swannanoa, NC. After 5 years of teaching and coaching, Williams, in 1978, finally was reunited with his mentor when he became an assistant coach under Dean Smith.

North Carolina Tarheels Coach Roy Williams – The Dean Smith Years

For 10 years, 1978 -1988, Williams was an assistant coach in a program that boasted a record of 275 – 61 and won the NCAA national championship in 1982, Smith’s first title and the schools second. William was also mainly responsible for recruiting such players as Michael Jordan, Brad Dougherty, and James Worthy to name just a few. When the job of head coach at Kansa became available, he knew the opportunity would be a good fit. With Dean Smith’s blessing. Williams became head coach for the Kansas Jayhawks in time to start the 1988-1989 basketball campaign.

North Carolina Tarheels Coach Roy Williams – The Kansas Years

For 15 years, during the time Williams was head coach, Kansas averaged over 27 wins per season. When his reign ended in Kansas, Williams record was 418 – 101. This translates into a very robust winning percentage of over 80 percent. His team posted over 30 win campaigns 5 times. Williams earned National Coach Of the Year Honors 4 times while at Kansas to go along with being named Big Eight/Twelve Coach of the year 7 times. Want even more accomplishments? Williams took 4 Kansas teams to the NCAA Final Four and twice into the championship round. To put it bluntly, the man can flat out coach and has the ability to connect with his players enabling him to get most out of each one. Sure, there were more awards and accomplishments during his 15 year reign at Kansas, but after a certain point it gets just a bit redundant.

North Carolina Tarheels Coach Roy Williams – Finally Reunited

When North Carolina finally replaced controversial Coach Matt Doherty in 2003, you knew it would only be a matter of time before Williams brought the program back to national prominence. Needless to say, it didn’t take as long as many experts had thought it would. In his first season, Williams once again guided a team into the post season with a 19-11 record. Sadly, the Tar Heels were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Texas. But this was just a sign of better things to come. In 2005 Williams achieved the goal of a national title for North Carolina and repeated the process again in the 2008-2009 campaign. Now with his place firmly cemented as one of the all time greats, Williams, at the young age of 58, has a chance to win more titles than anyone except John Wooden. A legend? Quite possibly, but I’ll let you decide that for yourself.

Refs:

http://www.eteamz.com/carolinabasketball/news/index.cfm?cat=384424

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/williams_roy00.html

http://statsheet.com/mcb/coaches/roy-williams

http://hoopedia.nba.com/index.php?title=Roy_Williams

http://northcarolina.rivals.com/viewcoach.asp?Coach=765

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