A sad day has come to college basketball fans. Roy Williams, coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels, has decided to retire. Announcing such on April Fool’s Day, people remained hesitant to see if he was trying to be funny, but sadly there was nothing to laugh about. Roy Williams is hanging up the Tar Heel blue coat and tie.
When people think of North Carolina basketball today, they do not always think of Michael Jordan, or how good of a program they are, they think Roy Williams. Roy Williams has been coaching for 33 years, starting at Kansas, and then his most known role in coaching North Carolina. Williams is top 3 with most wins in college history. His final record is 903-264. This record though puts him as the highest winning percentage for any DI coach with over 900 wins.
Roy Williams has been a fantastic coach and has taken North Carolina and Kansas to great heights, including three national championships, five Final Fours, nine ACC regular-season titles and three ACC Tournament victories, with another four Final Fours under his belt from his time with the Jayhawks. Williams has been awarded many coaches awards from the school and in 2007 was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
This is certainly an interesting time to retire for Roy Williams, especially after losing in the first round to Wisconsin’s Badgers. Roy Williams is not known for losing, as the stats show. But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.
Throughout Roy Williams Career, he has coached some of the best players to ever grace the court. Roy Williams helped 32 players become first-round picks in the NBA, with 52 players total in the league over that time. Some of his most notable players are Nick Collison, Paul Pierce, Kirk Hinrich, Harrison Barnes, Danny Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Coby White and Cole Anthony.
Roy Williams himself also got a lot of attention over the years, including Big Eight Coach of the Year (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996), Naismith College Coach of the Year (1997), Big 12 Coach of the Year (1997, 2002, 2003), ACC Coach of the Year (2006, 2011) and USA Today National Coach of the Year (2019). He is also the first coach to make it to 900 wins and is the first coach ever to have more than 400 wins with two different teams.
Roy Williams is leaving a great legacy, and he will always be remembered. It is a sad time to hear the heartbreaking news, but his family, his players and the Tar Heel Nation/Jayhawk nation support him and thank him for everything he has done for the two programs. It still is a bit concerning that he waited until April Fools Day to retire, but it seems legit. All hail the legendary Roy Williams!
