The news came out yesterday. Roy Williams is retiring.
Williams is one of the greats. Won a bunch of basketball games. Charmed the masses. Generally seemed “good,” unlike other coaches in the ACC, one of whom in particular generally seems “evil.”
But what do I like most about Roy Williams?
He never stopped trying.
Roy Williams’s only two head coaching positions were at Kansas and North Carolina—not exactly perennial NIT contenders.
But that didn’t keep Williams from taking his shots.
In 2010, he came the closest, guiding UNC to a 16-16 regular season mark and scraping through the Mississippi State quadrant of the bracket, taking down Rhode Island in overtime at Madison Square Garden only to lose to Dayton in the championship. After that heartbreak, it was a long way back—a groove Williams could never quite find. But again, he didn’t stop trying.
How else do you explain last year?
How else do you explain much of this year?
How else do you explain scheduling Marquette this February with nothing to “gain” and quite a lot to “lose?”
Roy Williams went down fighting for the NIT title that always eluded him. For that, we send our salute. Because even if you can’t reach the pinnacle of your profession, there’s no rule that says you can’t try.
Best wishes, Roy. We’ll miss you.
