WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Roy Williams ready for Cameron

By Josh Hailey

Feb 10, 2009

Roy Williams and his Tar Heels will be looking for their fourth straight win at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday night, and he clearly isn’t worried about playing in what may be the toughest venue in college sports.

“I’m not one that gets caught up on buildings.” Williams said Tuesday.

Williams does appreciate the atmosphere and the Cameron Crazies' creativity, but knows it’s the Blue Devil players that he needs to worry about. This is the best Duke team the Tar Heels will have faced since he returned from Kansas in 2003, he said.

“They are the best since I’ve been back,” he said

Williams believes they have more weapons this season than the teams led by J.J. Redick, also noting that Duke plays better defense than anybody else in the league.

Williams believes the key to winning these rivalry games is mental toughness. However, he is quick to add that nothing is more important than having good players, which both teams have.

When asked about some of his fondest memories of playing at Cameron he said, “Sitting out on that bus the last three years has been great.” It definitely isn’t just another game to either team, as Williams admitted.

"I say (that at) a lot of places. I’ll take a one-point win and get out of town as quickly as I possibly can, but I never believe it and mean it as much as I do (at) that place over there.”

Carolina may be playing its best basketball since the early part of the season, when they looked unbeatable, and Duke has been sputtering a bit, but Williams added, “That doesn’t make any difference. It's how you play Wednesday night.”