Congratulations to Roy Williams for another elite accomplishment.
The impressive victory over Syracuse was not only a sign that the Tar Heels are returning to their Maui-like level of play at precisely the right time, it came at home before an adoring crowd and marked Williams’ 800th college coaching victory. Among his many achievements in 29 seasons at KU and UNC is that Ol’ Roy has never missed a game on the bench, despite battling many maladies.
Williams accepted the Kansas job in the summer of 1988, just before his 38th birthday, and he reached 800 wins in fewer seasons than any other coach in history. Imagine if Williams had taken one of the earlier head jobs he was offered and began closer to Dean Smith, at age 31, or Mike Krzyzewski, the all-time victory leader who was coaching at Army in his late 20s?
If Williams had stayed at Kansas, he might have reached this magical number even sooner, based on his record at Lawrence versus Chapel Hill, which proves coaching in the ACC is a lot harder than in the old Big Eight or current Big 12. Ironically, Matt Doherty was at the Syracuse game, and it was Doherty’s unsuccessful tenure here that finally brought the basketball Hall of Famer back to UNC in 2003.
In his post-game remarks to the crowd, Williams said he has loved coaching all of his kids at both schools and has tried to be a good member of the community. He certainly has. Besides his well-known charitable contributions, Williams graciously says yes to local events he can make, such as coming after his radio show to pick the grand prize winner of WCHL’s annual sweepstakes that sends a group to somewhere his team plays each November or December.
You can argue with his strategy or claim he is too stubborn to change his coaching philosophies. But these are the facts: He has won nearly 80 percent of his games, including reaching eight Final Fours and winning two national championships. And he has been a loyal servant of the University of North Carolina in the mold of his mentor, Smith. That is not debatable. He loves us and we should love him in return. Undoubtedly, most of us do.
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