For Roy Williams, the pain probably started not long after the buzzer sounded last Saturday afternoon. Marcus Paige had just nailed a gutsy left-handed scoop shot with eight seconds to play to knock off fourth– ranked Louisville when all of a sudden, in a phenomenon that occurs twice each year, his head coach felt a sharp, burning sensation in his gut. Roy said nothing after the game, keeping all complaints to himself, but I knew what was wrong.
For the four nights after the big win, I had a hunch that Coach Williams would not be able to eat.
He’s mentioned the condition before. In 2008, after Tyler Hansbrough and the Tar Heels crushed the Wolfpack in Chapel Hill, Roy told the media that he’d “rather not eat than lose to NC State,” and that he informed Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, and the rest of his team that “they weren’t eating postgame unless they beat NC State.”
In this year’s first meet-up between the long-time rivals Wednesday night, Marcus Paige gave coach Williams his 23rd victory in 25 tries since taking the job at North Carolina, with a masterful performance – scoring 23 points, dishing out nine assists and also failing to record a single turnover.
For Roy, it must have also felt like Paige fed him a win with an extra side of chili-cheese fries, because you know he was hungry for this one.
Marcus Paige helped his coach’s appetite return with his play Wednesday (Todd Melet)
That’s why I feel safe saying that it was Roy Williams’ stomach that was actually the most relieved Tar Heel inside PNC Arena when State’s freshman forward Cody Martin missed long on his tip-in attempt that would have sent the game to overtime, giving the Heels an 81-79 victory in rival territory.
For the majority of Carolina fans, Duke is seen as UNC’s most hated rival, and the games between the two schools are some of the most intense in all of sports (professional or college). State basketball is often dismissed and treated like the red-headed stepchild, with the main insult being that it’s not even a “true rivalry” anymore due to the Tar Heels’ 31-6 record against the Pack since Dean Smith retired.
Roy Williams isn’t the majority of fans. He has no problem showing that emotion-filled “H-word” for the team in Raleigh. That isn’t a mystery. The mystery is why? When that strong emotional energy could be put towards Coach K’s Durham Empire, what could possibly fuel all this hate for State?
Roy Williams possibly expressing his feelings about NC State to his bench. (Todd Melet)
I decided it was necessary to bring out my magnifying glass, and go searching for answers. During my quest, I was led to five possible reasons that Roy’s stomach churns at the sight of the color red.
Let’s take a look at the findings of the investigation, which we can call the “Roy-State Report.”
- Bullying- There was a time in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s that NC State, led by coach Norm Sloan and star David Thompson, actually mattered on the national scene. They won three ACC championships, a national title in 1974, and had a nine game win streak against Carolina. Roy, a member of UNC’s class of ’72, recalled what it was like having friends at State during his college days when he told the media before their game against the Wolfpack in January 2012 that “…. I was a freshman in college and some old high school buddies that I had played baseball and basketball with were over at State and they gave me enough crap for the rest of my life. I didn’t appreciate it and I didn’t like it. So I’ve always had the feeling that this is an important game…”
- He Sees the Future- If you missed the game Wednesday or haven’t started watching college basketball yet this season, it’s my job to break the news that NC State is young, talented, athletic, and on the rise. Leading scorer Trevor Lacey is a junior expected to return next year, and guard Ralston Turner is the only senior on the team that plays at least ten minutes per game. The rest of the rotation consists of freshmen and sophomores all expected to make big improvements under head coach Mark Gottfried. They’ve also beaten Duke twice in the past two years. Roy may just want the fans to recognize this and start hating accordingly.
Coach Mark Gottfried looks to return NC State to its glory days (Todd Melet)
- Bricks- The University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States. This is common knowledge around Chapel Hill. The brick pathways around campus have long been associated with the school, famous among students for their many uneven “potholes” that trip anyone not watching their step. It’s my amateur theory that NC State, during its construction, loved the idea of UNC’s bricks so much that they stole it and extended it to their entire campus, making everything they could out of red and white bricks. The result was, in my personal opinion, one of the uglier college campuses in America, which could at least explain why Roy would hate going there.
- The Kool-Aid Man- No State fan will ever forget that bright red blazer. Former Wolfpack head coach Sidney Lowe finished his career in Raleigh just 1-10 against the Tar Heels but it was the fashion statement he made in the Pack’s February 2007 home victory against UNC that caught the eye of many. It started as a tribute to Jim Valvano, but when NC State scored a huge upset over a heavily favored Carolina team, the jacket took on a life of its own, with Lowe continuing to wear it during his team’s big games. Roy had to have been furious losing to a coach with an outfit that resembled the Kool-Aid man, with the memory strong enough to motivate himself into never losing to Lowe again.
- The Color– Growing up in North Carolina means that for as long as he has been alive, Roy Williams has associated the color red with NC State University. It also means that in a predominantly Christian state, Roy learned that God painted the sky Carolina Blue and that Satan himself was colored red. In coming to UNC, it may have been tough for Roy to be brainwashed into believing that devils are, in fact, Duke blue.
Although it can be easily argued that the “Roy-State Report” findings were somewhat inconclusive, they should at least help to answer why Wanda Williams, Roy’s wife, will most likely only need to cook dinner for one next month during the week of February 24th, when the Wolfpack return to Chapel Hill.
Those pains will be back, and again, it could be up to Marcus Paige to feed his coach.
I hope Gottfried stays forever!