Dadgummit, Roy Williams, we’re gonna miss ya
The college basketball landscape is changing, and that’s no April Fool’s joke.
Thursday has brought two big hoops announcements. First, North Carolina Coach Roy Williams announced he is retiring. Second, reports are Texas Tech Coach Chris Beard is leaving Lubbock to become the head coach at his alma mater, Texas.
The 70-year-old Williams won three national championships at North Carolina, capturing titles in 2005, 2009 and 2017. Overall, he was 485-163 at Chapel Hill, where he had served 10 years as an assistant under Dean Smith before becoming the head coach at Kansas in 1988. Williams didn’t do too badly in Lawrence either, going 418-101 in 15 seasons, including four trips to the Final Four and two national title game appearances.
He returned to Chapel Hill to replace Matt Doherty in 2003 and won his first national title two seasons later. The Tar Heels reached the Final Four five times in 18 seasons under Williams. They beat Illinois in the 2005 title game, Michigan State in the 2009 title game, lost to Villanova on a last-second shot in the 2016 national championship game before rebounding to beat Gonzaga for the title in 2017.
Williams’ “awe shucks” North Carolina country boy persona underplayed the fact he was a terrific coach and recruiter, one who upheld both the Smith legacy and the Tar Heels tradition. His 903 career victories rank third behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.
He finishes 10-10 against Kentucky, going 1-3 against the Wildcats while at Kansas, but 9-7 against UK as North Carolina’s coach. in Williams’ first matchup against UK as a head coach, his Jayhawks thrashed Rick Pitino’s undermanned Cats 150-95 at Allen Fieldhouse in 1988. He was 1-2 against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament. He lost 92-88 in overtime to Tubby Smith’s Cats in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Midwest Regional. He lost 76-69 to John Calipari’s Cats in the 2011 East Region finals in Newark, NJ. He then beat UK 75-73 in the 2017 South Region finals in Memphis.
[Scott Fowler: Ol’ Roy really was that good]
Williams’ final two seasons were not his best. The Heels plummeted to 14-19 last season. They rebounded to 18-11 this year but as a No. 8 seed were bounced 85-62 by Wisconsin in the first round of this year’s NCAA Tournament.
His shoes won’t be filled easily. Smith successors Bill Guthridge, Doherty and Williams all had strong ties to the program. That would indicate Wes Miller, a 37-year-old UNC alumnus who has taken UNC Greensboro to two NCAA Tournaments, is probably high on the replacement list. Assistants Hubert Davis and Steve Robinson could be candidates. Former UNC star Jerry Stackhouse may get a look, though he is just 20-37 in two seasons as Vanderbilt’s head coach.
[From 2018: Roy Williams still might be underrated]
Meanwhile, Texas has found its successor to Shaka Smart, who split for Marquette last week. The 48-year-old Beard is one of the best in the game. He’s 112-55 in five seasons at Texas Tech, including a trip to the 2019 national championship where the Red Raiders lost to Virginia in overtime. A head coach at McMurry, Angelo State and Arkansas-Little Rock, as well as an assistant under Bob Knight at Texas Tech, Beard was a basketball manager at Texas under Tom Penders before graduating in 1995.
The departure is sure to inflame the Texas-Texas Tech rivalry.
But just as Williams couldn’t turn his back on his alma mater in 2003, so too Beard. He’s a home run hire for the Horns.
Roy Williams vs Kentucky
As Kansas coach (1-3)
- Beat Kentucky 150-95 on 12-9-89 in Lawrence
- Lost to Kentucky 88-71 on 12-8-90 in Lexington
- Lost to Kentucky 63-45 on 12-1-98 in Chicago (Great Eight)
- Lost to Kentucky 92-88 on 3-14-99 in New Orleans (NCAA Tournament 2nd round game)
As North Carolina coach (9-7)
- Lost to Kentucky 61-56 on 1-3-04 in Lexington
- Beat Kentucky 91-78 on 12-4-04 in Chapel Hill
- Beat Kentucky 83-79 on 12-3-05 in Lexington
- Beat Kentucky 75-63 on 12-2-06 in Chapel Hill
- Beat Kentucky 86-77 on 12-1-07 in Lexington
- Beat Kentucky 77-58 on 11-18-08 in Chapel Hill
- Lost to Kentucky 68-66 on 12-5-09 in Lexington
- Beat Kentucky 75-73 on 12-4-10 in Chapel Hill
- Lost to Kentucky 76-69 on 3-27-11 in Newark, N.J. (NCAA Tournament East Region final)
- Lost to Kentucky 73-72 on 12-3-11 in Lexington
- Beat Kentucky 82-77 on 12-14-13 in Chapel Hill
- Lost to Kentucky 84-70 on 12-13-14 in Lexington
- Lost to Kentucky 103-100 on 12-17-16 in Las Vegas (CBS Sports Classic)
- Beat Kentucky 75-73 on 3-26-17 in Memphis (NCAA Tournament South Region final)
- Lost to Kentucky 80-72 on 12-22-18 in Chicago(CBS Sports Classic)
- Beat Kentucky 75-63 on 12-19-20 in Cleveland (CBS Sports Classic)
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 1:49 PM.
