Editor’s Note: Ahead of the anniversary of his retirement from coaching college basketball, former UNC head coach Roy Williams spoke with 97.9 The Hill’s Art Chansky in an exclusive interview. Williams shared details about the time leading up to his retirement, his role in the selection of a new coach and how he is experiencing time off from leading one of the top men’s basketball programs in the country.
One year ago on April 1, Roy Williams stepped down after 18 seasons at UNC and 48 years on the sideline as a high school coach, a college assistant and head coach of blue blood programs Kansas and Carolina.
At 70 years old, he said he was no longer the best man for the job at his beloved alma mater after a Hall of Fame career that included 903 victories and three NCAA championships. But his next chapter did not truly begin until he was sure the man he wanted to succeed him got the appointment, Hubert Davis.
Cognizant that UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz and Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham would make the final call on the new coach, Williams said he pushed hard while still allowing the search process to continue. The only other serious candidate appeared to be one of Roy’s former players, Wes Miller, who had been coaching at UNC Greensboro and since has moved on to Cincinnati.
“I thought Hubert could do the job,” Williams said of his nine-year assistant. “During those three or four days, I had a lot of conversations with Bubba and I felt pretty good about it except for about a six-hour period when I wasn’t getting a good vibe. I made it a little uncomfortable for Bubba, but I did try to make sure I gave him the right to do his job and his due diligence and the whole thing.
“He contacted some coaches’ agents, and I was fine with that. But I just felt like at the end of the day, the best decision was Hubert Davis. He came back to the guy who was the best and that was Hubert. And I believed that so much and wanted him to be the coach.”
When Davis was introduced on April 5, Williams’ official retirement from coaching began, and he became very careful, almost paranoid, about not getting in the way. He went to some practices, attended most home games and gets a lot of TV time wherever he is sitting. But it was now Davis’ program.
When the Tar Heels were 12-6 after losing badly at Miami and Wake Forest, Williams (who never uses social media and barely touches a computer) was told how much heat the rookie head coach was getting among some alumni and fans. That made him mad — but other than dropping Davis an occasional text, Williams remained an interested fan who sometimes didn’t sleep well and every morning awoke thinking about the program he had led since 2003.
“What upset people the most when we lost was the margin,” Williams said. “I was up in Connecticut when we lost to Purdue and Tennessee. I was discouraged about the way they played those two days. And Hubert was discouraged about how they played. But that didn’t mean it was time to give up on the season. And what he did, he just kept coaching. He kept coaching, kept coaching every day.
“What [Davis] has done is exactly what I knew he would do by being such a great person and fiercely competitive. And he’s continued working every single day to be the best coach and to make them the best team. And that’s all I ever care about.”
While it was common to see Roy Williams in the stands of the Dean Smith Center for games this season, the men’s basketball program honored him with “Roy Williams Day” vs. NC State on January 29, 2022. The center-court ceremony coincided with the 40th anniversary reunion of the 1982 national championship winning team, which saw the return of UNC icon Michael Jordan to Chapel Hill. (Photo via Todd Melet.)
Meanwhile, Williams was back on the golf course, getting his game in shape after his second knee replacement. He also spent much more time with his grandchildren, attending their soccer and flag football games and traveling between homes in Charleston and Pinehurst while he and Wanda listed their Chapel Hill house for sale.
When the Tar Heels began their late season run, Williams was not surprised and even reminded his friends that he predicted Carolina would finish among the top four in the ACC and make a run in the NCAA tournament. When he saw the Tar Heels were 11-point underdogs at Duke on March 5, he told some golf buddies in the clubhouse at Forest Creek that if he were a betting man (which he isn’t) he would take UNC because “we were going to win the game outright.”
“I didn’t go over there, and while we were watching the game I told Wanda if we could keep it close at halftime, there was a chance Duke would get tight,” he said of the 94-81 upset at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Mike Krzyzewski’s last home game.
When post-season arrived, Williams went to the ACC tournament in Brooklyn, while Wanda and the family planned a trip to Washington, D.C. It fell during the second week of the NCAA tournament but, fortunately, the Tar Heels won two games and advanced to the East Regional in Philadelphia.
“I was in Washington on Friday and I took a train up by myself — first time I’d ever been on a train — into Philly,” he said. “The cab driver was a big basketball fan and took me right to the door. And then on Sunday, Wanda and I got in the car with the two kids. We went to the zoo that morning in Washington and drove up and had the two oldest boys there with us and saw the game. And, so, I’m doing more things with the family.”
As the clock wound down on the lopsided win over Saint Peter’s, Williams found himself the most emotional he had been all season, especially when Davis pointed up to him in the stands and mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
As for his school’s chances at the Final Four, Williams said, “I think we’re playing the best basketball of any team in the country.” He points to Davis’ recruitment of grad transfer Brady Manek, and the improvement of all the returning players, as essential to the late-season surge to New Orleans.
“The key was Hubert getting Brady,” Williams said, “because last year we didn’t have a big man who could make a shot outside 10 feet. The way Brady can shoot the ball, they have to cover him and that opens up everything for Armando [Bacot.] Hubert went out and got the player that made all the difference.”
Despite Davis’ seemingly mild demeanor, Williams says his successor has the right combination of teaching and tough love. “And that’s what he does in practice,” Roy said. “He pushes them to do it better. And if he makes someone uncomfortable, that’s okay. The job is trying to be the best team that you can be and trying to make those kids the best players they can be.”
Williams said he made the right decision at the right time, but still misses coaching every day. However, he doesn’t have to lay awake at night anymore worrying about whether he called the right play. He is confident the program he loves is exactly in the right hands.
Photo via Todd Melet.
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