Quarantine is creating some unfortunate media headlines.
Why would Ty Lawson lambaste Roy Williams? And why would a Kansas radio station want to interview Ol’ Roy about leaving 17 years ago? That’s right, 17 years ago and ACC Player of the Year Lawson.
Obviously, with no games being played and entire seasons still in jeopardy, this has been a bad stretch for shelved athletes and beat reporters with nothing to write about.
Two of the stranger stories came out this week, both in involving Roy Williams and Carolina basketball.
When I saw Ty Lawson’s surprising tweet, I said, “Oh, boy.” Lawson, the 2009 ACC Player of the Year who with Hansbrough, Ellington and Green led the Heels a dominating NCAA tournament run, stripping the nets in Detroit.
Now, after 10 seasons in the NBA, where he made an estimated $15 million, Lawson still wants to blame his old college coach for, apparently, telling general managers the truth about him. That truth was: what a talent but he needs to be coached and managed hard.
Lawson has had publicized drinking problems, but still had a productive pro career. And isn’t Williams obligated to give NBA scouts and GMs unvarnished truth about his players, the good and the bad?
Rashad McCants still blames Williams for his failure in pro basketball after being a first-round draft pick in 2005. When the mercurial McCants washed out of the NBA after four years, he wanted Williams to get him another tryout in the league. At some point, a coach’s credibility is at stake for his future recommendations.
Also, this week, a radio jock from Kansas interviewed Williams and got him to recall the painful decision of leaving KU for Chapel Hill after the 2003 national championship game loss to Syracuse. Why isn’t the media covering the Jayhawks being underwater with the NCAA?
Williams has loved all of his players dating back to Owen High School in Swannanoa, so making any move has been tough for him. After 3 NCAA titles and the Hall of Fame here, Roy there is old news.
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