Roy Williams (coach)
Encyclopedia
Roy Williams is head coach of the men's basketball
team at the University of North Carolina
. After averaging nearly an 80% win percentage in 15 seasons at the University of Kansas
, he became the eighteenth head coach at North Carolina when he replaced Matt Doherty in 2003. He is second all-time for most wins at Kansas behind Phog Allen
and at North Carolina behind his mentor Dean Smith
. Additionally, he is third all-time in the NCAA
for winning percentage. Williams has taken his teams to seven Final Fours
in his careers at Kansas and North Carolina
(fourth all-time in NCAA history). From 1990-2009, Williams led his teams at Kansas and North Carolina to 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament
appearances (second all-time) and earned at least one victory in each appearance, achieving the all-time record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament
appearances with a win. These streaks both ended in the 2009–2010 season as UNC failed to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. He earned his 400th win in January 2003, when Kansas beat the University of Wyoming
. Coach Williams won his 500th career game against High Point University
on December 9, 2006 in Chapel Hill
. On November 29, 2009, Williams earned his 600th career victory by defeating the University of Nevada
. Williams became only the 33rd coach in Division I Men's Basketball history, as well as the third-fastest, to achieve at least 600 career wins. On April 4, 2005, Williams shed his title as "the most successful coach to never have won an NCAA ring" as his Tar Heels defeated the University of Illinois
in the 2005 NCAA Championship game
. He would again lead them to victory 4 years later, defeating the Michigan State Spartans
in the 2009 NCAA Championship game
on April 6, 2009. Williams is the fourth active coach, and thirteenth overall, to win multiple National Championships. In 2007, Williams was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
.
and Spruce Pine
. As a child his family relocated to nearby Asheville, N.C.
, where he grew up. Williams lettered in basketball and baseball at T. C. Roberson High School
near Asheville all four years. In basketball, playing for Coach Buddy Baldwin, he was named all-county and all-conference for two years (1967 and 1968), all-western North Carolina in 1968 and served as captain in the North Carolina Blue-White All-Star Game. Williams has stated that Coach Baldwin was one of the biggest influences in his life.
Williams went on to play on the UNC Junior Varsity Basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and study the game under legendary coach Dean Smith
. When Williams was a sophomore at Carolina, he asked Smith if he could attend his practices and would sit in the bleachers taking notes on Smith's coaching. Williams also volunteered to keep statistics for Smith at home games and worked in Smith's summer camps.
He coached basketball and boys' golf for five years, ninth-grade football for four years, and served as athletic director for two years.
In 1978, Williams came back to the University of North Carolina and served as an assistant to Coach Dean Smith. Williams would serve as an assistant coach from 1978–1988. During his tenure as assistant coach, North Carolina went 275–61 and won the NCAA national championship in 1982
, the first for Smith and second for North Carolina. One of Williams more notable events came as assistant coach when he became instrumental in recruiting Michael Jordan
.
Jayhawks, replacing former North Carolina assistant and UCLA
head coach Larry Brown
, who had taken the position as head coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs
. He was hired just months after the Danny Manning
-led Jayhawks unexpectedly won the 1988 NCAA championship. Weeks after taking the position, KU was placed on probation for violations that took place prior to his arrival. As a result, the Jayhawks were barred from postseason play for the 1988-89 season.
Williams coached 15 seasons at Kansas (from 1988–2003). During that time he had a record of 418–101, a .805 winning percentage. He is a second on the Jayhawks' all time win list behind Phog Allen. Williams's Kansas teams averaged 27.8 wins per season.
Kansas won nine regular-season conference championships over his last 13 years. In seven years of Big 12 Conference
play, his teams went 94–18, capturing the regular-season title in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 and the postseason tournament crown in 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001–02, KU became the first, and so far only, team to go undefeated (16–0) in Big 12 play. From 1995–98, Kansas was a combined 123–17 - an average of 30.8 wins per season.
Williams' teams went 201–17 (.922) in Allen Fieldhouse
, and won 62 consecutive games in Allen from February 1994 to December 1998. Kansas was a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 from 1991 to 1999, placing in the poll for 145 consecutive weeks. Williams' teams were ranked in the Top 10 in 194 AP polls from 1990.
Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage and scoring in 2002 and in scoring margin in 2003; they held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country in 2001 (37.8 percent); led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002; shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the season seven times; and led the country in field goal percentage in 1990 at 53.3 percent, and in 2002 at 50.6 percent; shot a combined 49.4 percent from the floor in 15 seasons; led the nation in assists in 2001 and 2002 and was seventh in the nation in 2003; scored 100 or more points 71 times (once every 13 games); averaged 82.7 points per game in 15 years; averaged 90 or more points in two seasons (92.1 in 1990 and 90.9 in 2002). Kansas was also the winningest team of the 1990s, despite failing to win any NCAA championships during the decade.
Williams had Kansas in the AP Top 25 in 242 of 268 weekly polls. Kansas reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in six different seasons and was ranked at least No. 2 in the nation in 11 of the 15 seasons.
Under Williams, the team had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, making it to four Final Fours and appearing in the national championship game in both 1991 and 2003, losing both, to Duke and Syracuse respectively. Amidst the tournament successes, there were plenty of woes. The 1996–97 team was said by many to be one of the greatest teams in history, featuring future NBA players such as Paul Pierce
, Jacque Vaughn
, Raef LaFrentz
, and Scot Pollard
. The team was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, Arizona Wildcats.
Except for his first season at Kansas (when the team was on probation), all of Williams' teams made the NCAA tournament. From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286–60 record, giving them both the most wins and best winning percentage of any team in that decade. From 1994 to 1998, the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at Allen Fieldhouse
, which was the longest such streak in the NCAA at the time. The seniors of 1998 (Raef LaFrentz
, Billy Thomas
, and C.B. McGrath) went 58–0 at home during their KU careers.
left the head coaching position vacant. After national media sources such as ESPN
prematurely announced Williams would take the position, they quickly backed off as it became clear that Williams' mind was not made up. North Carolina media continued to report that he had accepted the position. After a week of this back-and-forth, Williams held a press conference at Memorial Stadium
in Lawrence, Kan., where he announced that he was staying at Kansas.
Williams took the 2003 Kansas team to the NCAA championship game against Syracuse
. Syracuse defeated Kansas, 81–78, to win the NCAA championship. The end of the season brought a cloud of uncertainty over KU, as Williams' future was up in the air. Chancellor Robert Hemenway
fired KU Athletic Director Al Bohl, and while he cited Bohl's involvement in an academic scandal at Fresno State, many perceived the move as a desperate move to keep Williams at KU, as the relationship between Bohl and Williams was very poor. Bohl reacted angrily, accusing Williams of engineering the firing.
"This is a sad day for college athletics when a basketball coach has the power to hire and fire a university's athletic director...He had the choice to either crush me with his power of influence or let me fly with my visions for a better total program. He chose to crush me."
Williams ended up accepting the North Carolina head coaching position following the controversial three-year run of Matt Doherty, who prior to coaching at North Carolina been an assistant at KU under Williams.
and Dean Smith
--covered a 45-year period.
The Tar Heels were coming off of a mediocre season and two years before had suffered the worst season in school history. Nevertheless, the team still had top talent, including McDonald's All Americans Sean May, Rashad McCants
, and Raymond Felton
. In his first season, North Carolina finished 19–11 and returned to the national rankings for the first time since the early part of the 2001–02 season. They were knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Texas
.
In Williams' second year, the Tar Heels returned to national prominence. With the arrival of freshman Marvin Williams
, Williams was able to coach North Carolina to a National Championship
in 2005. After winning the championship, the team's top seven scorers all left. Despite such a massive loss of talent, the Tar Heels proved to be surprisingly successful in 2005–06, in part due to freshman Tyler Hansbrough
. Williams was named Coach of the Year for his ability to turn around such a new team to such a high level of success.
Williams quickly reloaded the team with top talent, bringing in recruits like Brandan Wright
, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington
and Deon Thompson
. The 2006–07 team tied as ACC regular season champions, earning the tiebreak over the Virginia Cavaliers
. With the #1 seed, the Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament
. After earning a #1 seed in the East Region in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Williams' team won its first round game against Eastern Kentucky Colonels
86–65 and its second against Michigan State
81–67. North Carolina then defeated the USC Trojans 74–64 to advance to the Elite Eight. On March 24, 2007, North Carolina fell to the Georgetown Hoyas in overtime in the East Regional, ending its post-season run. Following the 2006–2007 season
, Williams announced on July 18, 2007 that he has vertigo
, a condition that occasionally forces him to sit down suddenly during games.
The 2007–08 season was just as successful, culminating in another ACC regular season and tournament championship. Williams led the Tar Heels to a school-record 36 wins, the #1 overall ranking in the final AP poll, a #1 seed in the East Region of the tournament, the tournament's overall #1 seed, and the 2008 Final Four. The Tar Heels' run ended with an 84–66 loss in the Final Four to Kansas, Williams' former team. Two days after the defeat, he attended the tournament final between Kansas and Memphis, sporting a Jayhawk sticker on his shirt, which sparked controversy among Tar Heel fans.
With Tyler Hansbrough returning to Chapel Hill for his senior season, they were tipped by numerous prognosticators as the favorites to win the NCAA championship. The Heels started the season #1 in the polls. They won their first 13 games before being upset by Boston College 85–78. Two games later, they fell at ACC rival Wake Forest 92–89, but went on a winning streak, including a defeat of archrival Duke by 101–87, Williams' fourth straight victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium
. In defeating Duke 79–71 in the season finale, the Tar Heels secured their third straight ACC regular season title and fourth in Williams' six seasons as head coach at UNC. Although they lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament to Florida State
, they still garnered the top seed in the NCAA South Region—the fourth time in Williams' six-year tenure in Chapel Hill that the Tar Heels have been a #1 seed. North Carolina defeated Radford in the first round of the NCAA tournament, then LSU in the second round, and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 round, followed by a 72–60 defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Elite 8 that gave North Carolina its second straight berth into the Final Four in Detroit, Michigan. A 83–69 victory over Villanova
vaulted the Tar Heels into the national championship game. They played the Michigan State Spartans in the National Championship game and Williams won his second title with an 89–72 victory.
The 2009–2010 season was disappointing for North Carolina. They finished the regular season at 16–15, dropped to #3 in all-time wins, and bowed out in the First Round of the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels did not receive a post-season tournament bid by the NCAA--only the second time in Williams' coaching career that he didn't take part in that tournament (the first being his rookie season at Kansas). However, they did receive a bid to the NIT. Tar Heels made it all the way to the NIT Championship game which was played on April 1, 2010 at Madison Square Garden versus Dayton. Tar Heels lost with the score of 68-79 bringing their overall tally at 20-17 for 2009-2010 season. This 20 win season however kept Roy's streak of 20 win seasons alive. Roy Williams stated that the season was "the biggest frustration and the biggest disappointment of my professional life.". In addition to frustrating play, Roy Williams was criticized for comparing the 2009-10 season to the disaster in Haiti
by stating, "Our massage therapist told me, she said 'You know, Coach, what happened in Haiti is a catastrophe. What you're having is a disappointment.' And I told her that depends on which chair she was sitting in, because it does feel like a catastrophe to me, and that's because it is my life." Roy Williams later apologized for his comments, stating that he misspoke and "neglected to say that it puts basketball in perspective."
The Tar Heels started out slow during the 2010-2011 season, dropping early games to Minnesota, Vanderbilt and Illinois and also being blown out by twenty points at Georgia Tech. It was not until Williams made the difficult decision to start freshman point guard Kendall Marshall
over junior Larry Drew II
that the Tar Heels returned to their dominant winning ways. The Heels won the ACC Regular Season Championship after beating Duke in their final regular season game in Chapel Hill. It was Carolina's fifth ACC Regular Season title in eight years under Coach Williams. However, Carolina lost to Duke a week later in the ACC Tournament Championship game. Coach Williams was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year for the second time since becoming head coach at North Carolina for overcoming the adversity of losing four players to transfer and dismissal and winning the ACC regular season title. After defeating Long Island University, University of Washington, and Marquette, the Heels (29-7, 14-2) lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite 8.
North Carolina
In 2009, Algonquin Books published Williams' autobiography, "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court," co-written by Tim Crothers. In the book, Williams discusses his life, including that of his difficult childhood, the highs and lows of his successful coaching career and the difficult and agonizing decision to leave Kansas for North Carolina in 2003.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team at the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
. After averaging nearly an 80% win percentage in 15 seasons at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, he became the eighteenth head coach at North Carolina when he replaced Matt Doherty in 2003. He is second all-time for most wins at Kansas behind Phog Allen
Phog Allen
Forrest Clare "Phog" Allen was an American basketball and baseball player, coach of American football, basketball, and baseball, college athletics administrator, and osteopathic physician...
and at North Carolina behind his mentor Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
. Additionally, he is third all-time in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
for winning percentage. Williams has taken his teams to seven Final Fours
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
in his careers at Kansas and North Carolina
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
(fourth all-time in NCAA history). From 1990-2009, Williams led his teams at Kansas and North Carolina to 20 consecutive NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
appearances (second all-time) and earned at least one victory in each appearance, achieving the all-time record for most consecutive NCAA Tournament
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...
appearances with a win. These streaks both ended in the 2009–2010 season as UNC failed to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. He earned his 400th win in January 2003, when Kansas beat the University of Wyoming
Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball
The University of Wyoming men's basketball program, which currently competes in the Mountain West Conference, has a lengthy tradition dating back to 1905. Cowboys fans can claim something that few other teams' fans can: an NCAA Championship, won in 1943 under Hall of Fame coach Everett Shelton and...
. Coach Williams won his 500th career game against High Point University
High Point University
High Point University is a private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina, USA, affiliated with the United Methodist Church.- Beginnings :...
on December 9, 2006 in Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
. On November 29, 2009, Williams earned his 600th career victory by defeating the University of Nevada
Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball
The Nevada Wolf Pack basketball program is a college basketball team that represents the University of Nevada, Reno. The team is currently a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which is a Division I conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association...
. Williams became only the 33rd coach in Division I Men's Basketball history, as well as the third-fastest, to achieve at least 600 career wins. On April 4, 2005, Williams shed his title as "the most successful coach to never have won an NCAA ring" as his Tar Heels defeated the University of Illinois
Illinois Fighting Illini football
The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major college football program, representing the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. They compete in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference.-Current staff:-All-time win/loss/tie record:*563-513-51...
in the 2005 NCAA Championship game
2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St...
. He would again lead them to victory 4 years later, defeating the Michigan State Spartans
2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
The 2008–09 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Tom Izzo who was in his 14th year. The team played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI...
in the 2009 NCAA Championship game
2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....
on April 6, 2009. Williams is the fourth active coach, and thirteenth overall, to win multiple National Championships. In 2007, Williams was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
.
Early years
Williams was born in Marion General Hospital and spent his early years in the small western North Carolina towns of MarionMarion, North Carolina
Marion is a city in McDowell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,943 at the 2008 estimated census. It is the county seat of McDowell County.-Geography:Marion is located at ....
and Spruce Pine
Spruce Pine, North Carolina
Spruce Pine is a town in Mitchell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,175 at the 2010 census.-History:Spruce Pine was founded in 1907 when the Clinchfield Railroad made its way up the North Toe River from Erwin, Tennessee...
. As a child his family relocated to nearby Asheville, N.C.
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, where he grew up. Williams lettered in basketball and baseball at T. C. Roberson High School
T. C. Roberson High School
T.C. Roberson is a high school in the Buncombe County Schools System in Asheville, North Carolina. It is located at 250 Overlook Road, Asheville, NC 28803. TC Roberson High School was founded when Valley Springs High School and Biltmore High School were combined to form one high school...
near Asheville all four years. In basketball, playing for Coach Buddy Baldwin, he was named all-county and all-conference for two years (1967 and 1968), all-western North Carolina in 1968 and served as captain in the North Carolina Blue-White All-Star Game. Williams has stated that Coach Baldwin was one of the biggest influences in his life.
Williams went on to play on the UNC Junior Varsity Basketball team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
and study the game under legendary coach Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
. When Williams was a sophomore at Carolina, he asked Smith if he could attend his practices and would sit in the bleachers taking notes on Smith's coaching. Williams also volunteered to keep statistics for Smith at home games and worked in Smith's summer camps.
Early coaching years
Williams' first coaching job was in 1973 as a high school basketball and golf coach at Charles D. Owen High School in Swannanoa, N.C.Swannanoa, North Carolina
Swannanoa is a census-designated place in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,526 in 2007. The community is named for the Swannanoa River, which flows through the settlement. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area.Swannanoa is located between...
He coached basketball and boys' golf for five years, ninth-grade football for four years, and served as athletic director for two years.
In 1978, Williams came back to the University of North Carolina and served as an assistant to Coach Dean Smith. Williams would serve as an assistant coach from 1978–1988. During his tenure as assistant coach, North Carolina went 275–61 and won the NCAA national championship in 1982
1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 11, 1982, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in New Orleans, Louisiana...
, the first for Smith and second for North Carolina. One of Williams more notable events came as assistant coach when he became instrumental in recruiting Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
.
Years as head coach at Kansas
In 1988, Williams left North Carolina and became the head coach of the University of KansasUniversity of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
Jayhawks, replacing former North Carolina assistant and UCLA
UCLA Bruins men's basketball
The UCLA Bruins men's basketball program, established in 1920, owns a record 11 Division I NCAA championships. UCLA teams coached by John Wooden won 10 national titles in 12 seasons from 1964 to 1975, including 7 straight from 1967 to 1973. UCLA went undefeated a record 4 times, in 1964, 1967,...
head coach Larry Brown
Larry Brown (basketball)
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" Brown is an American basketball coach and former player. He most recently served as head coach of the National Basketball Association's Charlotte Bobcats....
, who had taken the position as head coach of the NBA's San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
. He was hired just months after the Danny Manning
Danny Manning
Daniel Ricardo "Danny" Manning is a retired American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association. He is an assistant basketball coach at his alma mater, the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Manning won the National Championship with the Jayhawks in 1988 as a player, and...
-led Jayhawks unexpectedly won the 1988 NCAA championship. Weeks after taking the position, KU was placed on probation for violations that took place prior to his arrival. As a result, the Jayhawks were barred from postseason play for the 1988-89 season.
Williams coached 15 seasons at Kansas (from 1988–2003). During that time he had a record of 418–101, a .805 winning percentage. He is a second on the Jayhawks' all time win list behind Phog Allen. Williams's Kansas teams averaged 27.8 wins per season.
Kansas won nine regular-season conference championships over his last 13 years. In seven years of Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
play, his teams went 94–18, capturing the regular-season title in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2003 and the postseason tournament crown in 1997, 1998 and 1999. In 2001–02, KU became the first, and so far only, team to go undefeated (16–0) in Big 12 play. From 1995–98, Kansas was a combined 123–17 - an average of 30.8 wins per season.
Williams' teams went 201–17 (.922) in Allen Fieldhouse
Allen Fieldhouse
Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The arena, named in honor of Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, who coached the university's men's basketball team for 39 years, is one of college basketball's most historically significant and prestigious buildings...
, and won 62 consecutive games in Allen from February 1994 to December 1998. Kansas was a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 from 1991 to 1999, placing in the poll for 145 consecutive weeks. Williams' teams were ranked in the Top 10 in 194 AP polls from 1990.
Kansas led the nation in field goal percentage and scoring in 2002 and in scoring margin in 2003; they held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage in the country in 2001 (37.8 percent); led the nation in winning percentage in 1997 and 2002; shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the season seven times; and led the country in field goal percentage in 1990 at 53.3 percent, and in 2002 at 50.6 percent; shot a combined 49.4 percent from the floor in 15 seasons; led the nation in assists in 2001 and 2002 and was seventh in the nation in 2003; scored 100 or more points 71 times (once every 13 games); averaged 82.7 points per game in 15 years; averaged 90 or more points in two seasons (92.1 in 1990 and 90.9 in 2002). Kansas was also the winningest team of the 1990s, despite failing to win any NCAA championships during the decade.
Williams had Kansas in the AP Top 25 in 242 of 268 weekly polls. Kansas reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in six different seasons and was ranked at least No. 2 in the nation in 11 of the 15 seasons.
Under Williams, the team had several deep runs in the NCAA Tournament, making it to four Final Fours and appearing in the national championship game in both 1991 and 2003, losing both, to Duke and Syracuse respectively. Amidst the tournament successes, there were plenty of woes. The 1996–97 team was said by many to be one of the greatest teams in history, featuring future NBA players such as Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce
Paul Anthony Pierce , nicknamed The Truth, is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He earned First Team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas, and has been a starter every season since being selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the...
, Jacque Vaughn
Jacque Vaughn
Jacque Vaughn is an American former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA and is currently serving as an assistant coach for the team.-High school career:...
, Raef LaFrentz
Raef LaFrentz
Raef Andrew LaFrentz is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009. Born and raised in Iowa, LaFrentz attended the University of Kansas and was drafted in 1998 by the Denver Nuggets...
, and Scot Pollard
Scot Pollard
Scot L. Pollard is a retired American professional basketball player. In an eleven-year NBA career, he played for five teams, spending the bulk of his career with the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers...
. The team was upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the eventual champion, Arizona Wildcats.
Except for his first season at Kansas (when the team was on probation), all of Williams' teams made the NCAA tournament. From 1990 to 1999 Kansas compiled a 286–60 record, giving them both the most wins and best winning percentage of any team in that decade. From 1994 to 1998, the Jayhawks won 62 consecutive home games at Allen Fieldhouse
Allen Fieldhouse
Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The arena, named in honor of Dr. Forrest C. "Phog" Allen, who coached the university's men's basketball team for 39 years, is one of college basketball's most historically significant and prestigious buildings...
, which was the longest such streak in the NCAA at the time. The seniors of 1998 (Raef LaFrentz
Raef LaFrentz
Raef Andrew LaFrentz is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009. Born and raised in Iowa, LaFrentz attended the University of Kansas and was drafted in 1998 by the Denver Nuggets...
, Billy Thomas
Billy Thomas
For the Wales international footballer see Billy Thomas Billy Thomas is an American former professional basketball player...
, and C.B. McGrath) went 58–0 at home during their KU careers.
Leaving Kansas for North Carolina
Williams was faced with the opportunity to return to North Carolina in 2000, when Bill GuthridgeBill Guthridge
Bill Guthridge is a retired American college basketball coach.Guthridge initially gained recognition after serving for 30 years as Dean Smith's assistant at the University of North Carolina. Following Dean Smith's retirement in 1997, Guthridge served as head coach of the Tar Heels for three seasons...
left the head coaching position vacant. After national media sources such as ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
prematurely announced Williams would take the position, they quickly backed off as it became clear that Williams' mind was not made up. North Carolina media continued to report that he had accepted the position. After a week of this back-and-forth, Williams held a press conference at Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium, Lawrence
University of Kansas Memorial Stadium is a football stadium located in Lawrence, Kansas, on the campus of the University of Kansas. The stadium is dedicated as a memorial to the KU students who died in World War I...
in Lawrence, Kan., where he announced that he was staying at Kansas.
Williams took the 2003 Kansas team to the NCAA championship game against Syracuse
Syracuse Orange men's basketball
The Syracuse Orange men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team representing Syracuse University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference...
. Syracuse defeated Kansas, 81–78, to win the NCAA championship. The end of the season brought a cloud of uncertainty over KU, as Williams' future was up in the air. Chancellor Robert Hemenway
Robert Hemenway
Robert Emery Hemenway was the 16th chancellor of the University of Kansas .-Biography:Hemenway arrived at KU in 1995 as the successor to interim chancellor, Del Shankel. Prior to his tenure at KU, Hemenway served as chancellor of the University of Kentucky from 1989–1995 and Dean of Arts and...
fired KU Athletic Director Al Bohl, and while he cited Bohl's involvement in an academic scandal at Fresno State, many perceived the move as a desperate move to keep Williams at KU, as the relationship between Bohl and Williams was very poor. Bohl reacted angrily, accusing Williams of engineering the firing.
"This is a sad day for college athletics when a basketball coach has the power to hire and fire a university's athletic director...He had the choice to either crush me with his power of influence or let me fly with my visions for a better total program. He chose to crush me."
Williams ended up accepting the North Carolina head coaching position following the controversial three-year run of Matt Doherty, who prior to coaching at North Carolina been an assistant at KU under Williams.
NCAA violation
In July 2005, KU released a report stating that they had violated an NCAA extra benefit rule during Williams' tenure. KU opted against self-imposing penalties. However, in 2006, the NCAA, after conducting its own investigation, decided to impose penalties. In reaching its decision, the NCAA noted that two boosters, one since 1988, had provided graduation gifts to outgoing basketball players with the knowledge of Williams. Gene Marsh, chair of the infractions committee, said there was no thought of now penalizing former KU coach Roy Williams for approving small cash gifts to graduating seniors.Years as head coach at North Carolina
When Williams came to North Carolina, it was hoped that he would restore a measure of stability to the program. He was the school's third coach in six years; the previous two coaches--Frank McGuireFrank McGuire
Frank Joseph McGuire was an American athletic coach who gained his greatest renown in collegiate basketball....
and Dean Smith
Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel...
--covered a 45-year period.
The Tar Heels were coming off of a mediocre season and two years before had suffered the worst season in school history. Nevertheless, the team still had top talent, including McDonald's All Americans Sean May, Rashad McCants
Rashad McCants
Rashad Dion McCants is an American professional basketball player.-High school career:...
, and Raymond Felton
Raymond Felton
Raymond Bernard Felton, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association . A point guard, Felton is listed at 6'1 and 205 lbs. Felton played college basketball for the North Carolina under head coach Roy...
. In his first season, North Carolina finished 19–11 and returned to the national rankings for the first time since the early part of the 2001–02 season. They were knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Texas
Texas Longhorns men's basketball
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference....
.
In Williams' second year, the Tar Heels returned to national prominence. With the arrival of freshman Marvin Williams
Marvin Williams
Marvin Gaye Williams, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. He currently is playing for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association and is listed at 6' 9" and 240 pounds...
, Williams was able to coach North Carolina to a National Championship
2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 2005 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at the Edward Jones Dome in St...
in 2005. After winning the championship, the team's top seven scorers all left. Despite such a massive loss of talent, the Tar Heels proved to be surprisingly successful in 2005–06, in part due to freshman Tyler Hansbrough
Tyler Hansbrough
Andrew Tyler Hansbrough is an American basketball player for the Indiana Pacers. Hansbrough completed a college basketball career with the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team in 2009, and was drafted into the NBA by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th pick of the 1st round of the 2009 NBA...
. Williams was named Coach of the Year for his ability to turn around such a new team to such a high level of success.
Williams quickly reloaded the team with top talent, bringing in recruits like Brandan Wright
Brandan Wright
Brandan Keith Wright is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Growing up in Tennessee, Wright fast became a standout at his high school Brentwood Academy, earning an unprecedented three "Mr. Basketball" titles, a...
, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington
Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. , is an American basketball player who was drafted 28th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association...
and Deon Thompson
Deon Thompson
Deon Thompson is an American college basketball player that played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Thompson is 6'9" tall and played the forward position....
. The 2006–07 team tied as ACC regular season champions, earning the tiebreak over the Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball program represents the University of Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the NCAA's Division I. The team is coached by Tony Bennett.-Statistics:-Retired numbers:-Retired jerseys:...
. With the #1 seed, the Tar Heels won the ACC Tournament
2007 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2007 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 8-11, 2007, in Tampa, Florida at the St. Pete Times Forum. The tournament was held in the state of Florida for the first time in its 54-year history. The quarterfinal games were televised nationwide on ESPN2....
. After earning a #1 seed in the East Region in the 2007 NCAA Tournament, Williams' team won its first round game against Eastern Kentucky Colonels
Eastern Kentucky Colonels
EKU fields teams in 15 varsity sports . The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference in Division I of the NCAA , having been a part of the conference since its inception in 1948...
86–65 and its second against Michigan State
Michigan State Spartans men's basketball
The Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represents Michigan State University and competes in the Big Ten Conference of NCAA Division I. The team currently plays at the Breslin Student Events Center...
81–67. North Carolina then defeated the USC Trojans 74–64 to advance to the Elite Eight. On March 24, 2007, North Carolina fell to the Georgetown Hoyas in overtime in the East Regional, ending its post-season run. Following the 2006–2007 season
2006-07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2006–07 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 7, 2006, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on April 2, 2007 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia...
, Williams announced on July 18, 2007 that he has vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
, a condition that occasionally forces him to sit down suddenly during games.
The 2007–08 season was just as successful, culminating in another ACC regular season and tournament championship. Williams led the Tar Heels to a school-record 36 wins, the #1 overall ranking in the final AP poll, a #1 seed in the East Region of the tournament, the tournament's overall #1 seed, and the 2008 Final Four. The Tar Heels' run ended with an 84–66 loss in the Final Four to Kansas, Williams' former team. Two days after the defeat, he attended the tournament final between Kansas and Memphis, sporting a Jayhawk sticker on his shirt, which sparked controversy among Tar Heel fans.
With Tyler Hansbrough returning to Chapel Hill for his senior season, they were tipped by numerous prognosticators as the favorites to win the NCAA championship. The Heels started the season #1 in the polls. They won their first 13 games before being upset by Boston College 85–78. Two games later, they fell at ACC rival Wake Forest 92–89, but went on a winning streak, including a defeat of archrival Duke by 101–87, Williams' fourth straight victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the West Campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It is home to the Duke Blue Devils men's and women's basketball teams, the women's volleyball team, and the men's wrestling team....
. In defeating Duke 79–71 in the season finale, the Tar Heels secured their third straight ACC regular season title and fourth in Williams' six seasons as head coach at UNC. Although they lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament to Florida State
Florida State Seminoles
The Florida State Seminoles are the men's and women's sports teams of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Florida State participates in the NCAA's Division I . FSU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1991, and competes in the Atlantic Division in any sports split into a...
, they still garnered the top seed in the NCAA South Region—the fourth time in Williams' six-year tenure in Chapel Hill that the Tar Heels have been a #1 seed. North Carolina defeated Radford in the first round of the NCAA tournament, then LSU in the second round, and Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 round, followed by a 72–60 defeat of the Oklahoma Sooners in the Elite 8 that gave North Carolina its second straight berth into the Final Four in Detroit, Michigan. A 83–69 victory over Villanova
Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
This is the article about the men's basketball team from Villanova University. The team has competed since the 1920–21 season. Nicknamed the "Wildcats", Villanova is a member of the Big East Conference and the Philadelphia Big Five. The Villanova Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA...
vaulted the Tar Heels into the national championship game. They played the Michigan State Spartans in the National Championship game and Williams won his second title with an 89–72 victory.
The 2009–2010 season was disappointing for North Carolina. They finished the regular season at 16–15, dropped to #3 in all-time wins, and bowed out in the First Round of the ACC tournament. The Tar Heels did not receive a post-season tournament bid by the NCAA--only the second time in Williams' coaching career that he didn't take part in that tournament (the first being his rookie season at Kansas). However, they did receive a bid to the NIT. Tar Heels made it all the way to the NIT Championship game which was played on April 1, 2010 at Madison Square Garden versus Dayton. Tar Heels lost with the score of 68-79 bringing their overall tally at 20-17 for 2009-2010 season. This 20 win season however kept Roy's streak of 20 win seasons alive. Roy Williams stated that the season was "the biggest frustration and the biggest disappointment of my professional life.". In addition to frustrating play, Roy Williams was criticized for comparing the 2009-10 season to the disaster in Haiti
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
by stating, "Our massage therapist told me, she said 'You know, Coach, what happened in Haiti is a catastrophe. What you're having is a disappointment.' And I told her that depends on which chair she was sitting in, because it does feel like a catastrophe to me, and that's because it is my life." Roy Williams later apologized for his comments, stating that he misspoke and "neglected to say that it puts basketball in perspective."
The Tar Heels started out slow during the 2010-2011 season, dropping early games to Minnesota, Vanderbilt and Illinois and also being blown out by twenty points at Georgia Tech. It was not until Williams made the difficult decision to start freshman point guard Kendall Marshall
Kendall Marshall
Kendall Dewan Marshall is an American college basketball player for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. He grew up in Dumfries, Virginia, and attended Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia.-High school career:...
over junior Larry Drew II
Larry Drew II
Larry Drew II is an American collegiate basketball player for the University of California, Los Angeles . He is the son of Larry Drew, who was a first-round draft pick in the 1980 National Basketball Association Draft and is the current head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. At William Howard Taft...
that the Tar Heels returned to their dominant winning ways. The Heels won the ACC Regular Season Championship after beating Duke in their final regular season game in Chapel Hill. It was Carolina's fifth ACC Regular Season title in eight years under Coach Williams. However, Carolina lost to Duke a week later in the ACC Tournament Championship game. Coach Williams was selected as the ACC Coach of the Year for the second time since becoming head coach at North Carolina for overcoming the adversity of losing four players to transfer and dismissal and winning the ACC regular season title. After defeating Long Island University, University of Washington, and Marquette, the Heels (29-7, 14-2) lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite 8.
Professional players coached
Kansas- Paul PiercePaul PiercePaul Anthony Pierce , nicknamed The Truth, is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the NBA. He earned First Team All-America honors in his junior year at Kansas, and has been a starter every season since being selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the...
- Kirk HinrichKirk HinrichKirk James Hinrich is an American professional basketball player, currently a guard for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. He has also been a member of the USA National Team....
- Nick CollisonNick CollisonNicholas John Collison is an American professional basketball player, currently a power forward for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA, and well known in basketball circles for his accomplishments at the University of Kansas.- Early life and high school career :Nick Collison was born in Orange...
- Drew GoodenDrew GoodenAndrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden is an American professional basketball player in the NBA who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Gooden is a 6'10", 250 lbs...
- Wayne SimienWayne SimienWayne Anthony Simien, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player, who last played with Spain's Cáceres Ciudad de Baloncesto. He was a member of the Miami Heat team that won the 2005–06 NBA championship.-High school career:Growing up, Simien was a University of Kansas fan due to his...
- Keith LangfordKeith LangfordKeith Langford is an American professional basketball player currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv.He is a 6' 4" tall shooting guard. He played college basketball with the University of Kansas....
- Aaron MilesAaron MilesAaron Wade Miles is a Major League Baseball infielder who is currently a free agent.-Houston Astros:Miles was originally drafted by the Houston Astros in the 19th round of the 1995 amateur draft...
- Raef LaFrentzRaef LaFrentzRaef Andrew LaFrentz is a retired American professional basketball power forward and center who played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009. Born and raised in Iowa, LaFrentz attended the University of Kansas and was drafted in 1998 by the Denver Nuggets...
- Greg OstertagGreg OstertagGregory Donovan Ostertag is a retired American basketball player who spent most of his professional career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association.- High School and College :...
- Scot PollardScot PollardScot L. Pollard is a retired American professional basketball player. In an eleven-year NBA career, he played for five teams, spending the bulk of his career with the Sacramento Kings and the Indiana Pacers...
- Jacque VaughnJacque VaughnJacque Vaughn is an American former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA and is currently serving as an assistant coach for the team.-High school career:...
- Rex WaltersRex Walters-External links:...
- Kevin PritchardKevin PritchardKevin Lee Pritchard is a retired American professional basketball player.- College career :Pritchard played college basketball for the University of Kansas, where he was the starting point guard on the Jayhawks team that defeated the Oklahoma Sooners for the 1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball...
- Billy ThomasBilly ThomasFor the Wales international footballer see Billy Thomas Billy Thomas is an American former professional basketball player...
- Mark Randall
- Darrin HancockDarrin HancockDarrin Hancock is a retired American professional basketball player. In high school and college he was known for his strong offense, while his quick and agile moves to the basket drew comparisons to the likes of Dominique Wilkins...
North Carolina
- Sean May
- Rashad McCantsRashad McCantsRashad Dion McCants is an American professional basketball player.-High school career:...
- Raymond FeltonRaymond FeltonRaymond Bernard Felton, Jr. is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association . A point guard, Felton is listed at 6'1 and 205 lbs. Felton played college basketball for the North Carolina under head coach Roy...
- Marvin WilliamsMarvin WilliamsMarvin Gaye Williams, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. He currently is playing for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association and is listed at 6' 9" and 240 pounds...
- David NoelDavid NoelDavid Anthony Noel III is an American professional basketball player. A graduate of Southern High School in Durham, North Carolina and the University of North Carolina, Noel was drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft with their lone pick, 39th overall.Noel...
- Jawad WilliamsJawad WilliamsJawad Hason Williams is an American professional basketball player. He played high school basketball at St. Edward High School of Lakewood, Ohio and collegiately for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels....
- Brandan WrightBrandan WrightBrandan Keith Wright is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Growing up in Tennessee, Wright fast became a standout at his high school Brentwood Academy, earning an unprecedented three "Mr. Basketball" titles, a...
- Tyler HansbroughTyler HansbroughAndrew Tyler Hansbrough is an American basketball player for the Indiana Pacers. Hansbrough completed a college basketball career with the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team in 2009, and was drafted into the NBA by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th pick of the 1st round of the 2009 NBA...
- Ty Lawson
- Wayne EllingtonWayne EllingtonWayne Robert Ellington Jr. , is an American basketball player who was drafted 28th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association...
- Danny GreenDanny Green (basketball)Daniel Richard "Danny" Green, Jr. is an American professional basketball player for KK Union Olimpija in Slovenia. He is a 6'6" guard-forward from North Carolina. Danny has the most wins in North Carolina history: he played in more games and had more wins than any Tar Heel before him...
- Ed DavisEd Davis (basketball)Edward Adam "Ed" Davis is a professional basketball player who currently plays for the Toronto Raptors. He played high school basketball at Benedictine High School in Richmond, Virginia...
Personal life
Williams and his wife Wanda, also a 1972 Carolina graduate, have a son, Scott and a daughter, Kimberly. Also have 5 Godchildren, 4 boys and 1 girl. Williams has contributed $200,000 to the Carolina Covenant, an initiative at North Carolina that allows low-income students to attend the University debt-free. Roy and Wanda serve as honorary co-chairs of a $10 million campaign to endow the program.In 2009, Algonquin Books published Williams' autobiography, "Hard Work: A Life On and Off the Court," co-written by Tim Crothers. In the book, Williams discusses his life, including that of his difficult childhood, the highs and lows of his successful coaching career and the difficult and agonizing decision to leave Kansas for North Carolina in 2003.
Awards
- Big Eight Coach of the Year (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996)
- Henry Iba Award (1990, 2006),
- The Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
Coach of the Year award twice. He was first honored in 1992 with the Kansas Jayhawks. He was recognized at North Carolina in 2006, as he had a surprisingly successful season after losing 96% of the 2005 championship squad's scoring productivity. He is only the seventh coach in history to win the award twice and the second to do it at two different schools. - Naismith College Coach of the Year (1997),
- Big 12 Coach of the Year (1997, 2002, 2003),
- John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (2003),
- ACC Coach of the Year (2006, 2011),
- Roy Williams was elected to the Basketball Hall of FameBasketball Hall of FameThe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
on April 1, 2007. - Williams was named by ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as America's Best College Basketball Coach in February 2009 - Sporting News named Wiliams Coach of the Decade for the 2000s.
- In December 2009 Seth DavisSeth DavisSeth Davis is a writer for Sports Illustrated magazine and an in-studio analyst for CBS' NCAA men's college basketball coverage with Greg Anthony and host Greg Gumbel. Davis attended Duke University, graduating in 1992 with a degree in political science...
at Sports IllustratedSports IllustratedSports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
nominated Williams as one of the coaches of the decade.
Head coaching record
Coaching tree
Several former players and assistant coaches of Williams have gone on to their own careers in coaching.Assistant coaches
- Matt Doherty - Notre DameNotre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketballThe Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. The program competes in the Big East Conference of NCAA Division I. The school holds two national championships in...
(1999–2000), North CarolinaNorth Carolina Tar Heels men's basketballThe North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
(2000–03), FAUFlorida Atlantic Owls men's basketballThe Florida Atlantic Owls basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University, a mid-major NCAA Division I college basketball team, that currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.-Overview and history:...
(2005–06), SMU (2006–present) - Neil DoughertyNeil DoughertyCornelius Aaron "Neil" Dougherty was an American basketball coach, most recently the head coach at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas...
- TCUTCU Horned FrogsThe TCU Horned Frogs are the athletic teams that represent Texas Christian University, consisting of 18 varsity teams. The "horned frog" nickname and mascot refer to the Texas horned lizard, as known as the "horned frog". The women's athletics teams are often referred to often as the Lady Frogs...
(2002–08) - Jerry Green - OregonOregon Ducks men's basketballOregon Ducks men’s college basketball is an intercollegiate basketball program that competes in the NCAA Division I and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference, representing the University of Oregon. The Ducks play their home games at Matthew Knight Arena. Oregon, then coached by Howard Hobson, won...
(1992–97), Tennessee (1997–2001) - Steve RobinsonSteve Robinson (basketball coach)Steve Robinson , a native of Roanoke, Virginia, is an assistant college basketball coach at the University of North Carolina. He is the former head coach of the University of Tulsa and Florida State University...
- TulsaTulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketballThe University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane basketball team represents the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team participates in Conference USA. The men’s team is currently coached by Doug Wojcik....
(1995–97), Florida State (1997–2002) - Kevin StallingsKevin StallingsKevin Stallings is currently in his 11th season as the head men’s basketball coach at Vanderbilt University. Previously, he served as head coach at Illinois State University and was an assistant coach at Purdue University and the University of Kansas.-High school & college:Stallings was born in...
- Illinois StateIllinois State Redbirds men's basketballThe Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents the Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition.-Season by Season Records:-NCAA Tournament Results:...
(1993–99), VanderbiltVanderbilt Commodores men's basketballThe Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . The Commodores have won three SEC regular season titles . They have competed in ten NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet 16 six times...
(1999–present) - Mark TurgeonMark TurgeonMark Leo Turgeon is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach for the University of Maryland Terrapins. Turgeon previously served as head coach at Texas A&M for 4 years.-Personal:...
- Jacksonville StateJacksonville State UniversityJacksonville State University is a regional public coeducational university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, USA. Founded in 1883, Jacksonville State offers programs of study in four academic units leading to Bachelor's, Master's, and Education Specialist degrees, in addition to continuing and...
(1998–2000), Wichita StateWichita State Shockers men's basketballThe Wichita State Shockers basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference...
(2000–07), Texas A&MTexas A&M Aggies men's basketballThe Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represents Texas A&M University in NCAA Division I college basketball. The Aggies play home games at Reed Arena, a 12,500-capacity arena in College Station, Texas on the campus of Texas A&M University....
(2007–11), MarylandMaryland Terrapins men's basketballThe Maryland Terrapins men's basketball team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition...
(2011–present)
Players
- Jacque VaughnJacque VaughnJacque Vaughn is an American former professional basketball player. He last played for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA and is currently serving as an assistant coach for the team.-High school career:...
- San Antonio SpursSan Antonio SpursThe San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
asst. coach (2010–present) - Rex WaltersRex Walters-External links:...
- FAUFlorida Atlantic Owls men's basketballThe Florida Atlantic Owls basketball team represents Florida Atlantic University, a mid-major NCAA Division I college basketball team, that currently competes in the Sun Belt Conference.-Overview and history:...
(2006–08), San FranciscoSan Francisco Dons men's basketballThe San Francisco Dons basketball team represents the University of San Francisco in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's college basketball. The Dons compete in the West Coast Conference, in which they have won sixteen regular season and one conference tournament...
(2008–present)
See also
- List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
- List of NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coach
- List of NCAA Men's Division I Elite Eight appearances by coach