There is a method to Roy's madness
Dec 2, 2010
If you are a regular visitor to this website, (and I assume that you are), you have either heard, read, or been told about the Roy Williams diatribe against ESPN following UNC's loss to Illinois on Tuesday night. Carolina fans will tell you it was just Roy's frustration with his team boiling over, while ABCers will say is just Ol' Roy bellyaching again.
In reality, it is something all together different.
What Roy was doing is one of the oldest tricks in the coaching book. He has a young player in Harrison Barnes, who was facing unbelievable expectations coming into his freshman year. Barnes was hailed as the savior of a Tar Heel program that was coming off of an atypical 17-loss season, but his production has yet to match his hype. To say Barnes has struggled so far would be an understatement, and his struggles have only been magnified when compared to the remarkable play of Duke point guard and fellow superfrosh Kyrie Irving. By all accounts, Barnes is an extremely bright, hard-working young man, who obviously possesses all of the tools to be a great college basketball player. However, as talented as Barnes is, he is human. It's obvious that the pressure to produce in a big way, right away, has gotten to him. So what is a coach to do? Take the pressure and criticism off of the player and put it on yourself. Think about it. Roy could care less what people in the stands, in the media, or on the message boards say about him. He's said as much many, many times. By shifting the focus to himself, maybe it takes some of the pressure off of Barnes, and he can relax a bit. While I am sure that Roy was upset by the criticism of his young star, he is also smart enough to try and take a negative situation and use it as a positive.
More importantly, I think it is a way for Roy to show Harrison Barnes that he has his back. When an athlete in any sport struggles as much as Barnes has so far this season, some self-doubt has to start creeping in. By coming out and defending Barnes in such a way, it shows the rookie that his coach sill believes in him. Roy has certainly had his moments over the last season-plus where he has thrown some of his players under the bus. Maybe he sees that approach will not work with Barnes.
Whether the public defense of Harrison Barnes helps the freshman's confidence, and in turn his shooting stroke, is yet to be seen. And even if it does help, there are still plenty of issues facing this Tar Heel team.
Either way, don't look for Roy Williams at next year's ESPYs.
Most Recent Comments
Posted Feb 9, 3:06 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 22547
Joined: Dec, 2007
Location: Southern Pines, NC
RE: There is a method to Roy's madness
I just caught this one. Roy has calmed down his crying to the media since they are winning again. He is more positive and it shows in his interviews. Not embarrassing himself like he did earlier.RE: There is a method to Roy's madness
I actually think huckleberry was upset that the media spent more time writing about someone else other than roy himself. Roy loves a camera. Barnes will be fine but it is obvious that he is a little overated. Roy stated he was mad that the kid gets all this attention - this is the same kid that announced his signing on national TV?Posted Dec 7, 10:33 a.m.
Rank: Pro Posts: 148
Joined: May, 2007
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: There is a method to Roy's madness
stick with it, people might care what you have to say one day
Wanna take bets?
Posted Dec 6, 11:46 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 7069
Joined: Feb, 2010
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: There is a method to Roy's madness
man, not a lot of hits on this oneor it is it that people think you are wrong
or maybe its because you are obviously a Tar Heel fan
but it was a good attempt
stick with it, people might care what you have to say one day
Posted Dec 4, 2:15 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 19479
Joined: Dec, 2006
Location: Raleigh, NC
