Williams surprised by reaction to 2009 title
Oct 25, 2009
Roy Williams loves this time of year, and you could see that Sunday. Relaxed, candid, excited about his team, Williams seemed unconcerned about where his North Carolina club would be picked in the ACC and what others expected of it.
He is coming off his second national title, a remarkable feat for an accomplished coach who once yearned to finally land the sport’s biggest prize.
He has taken a UNC program that had fallen behind Duke and made it the league’s elite team again. Even in a year where Carolina pumped a ton of talent into the NBA, the Heels are still right there, picked with Duke to win the ACC again.
But Williams’ perspective on this title is a surprising one, and it’s a perspective that to some extent North Carolina shares with Duke. For all the differences in the schools and fan bases, the two eternal rivals share a common rival – complacency.
You’ve seen it at Duke, where students don’t clamor for space in Cameron Indoor Stadium the way they once did and Mike Krzyzewski has been vocal in saying success is not to be taken for granted.
And Williams, perhaps, got a hint of it this offseason, when the celebratory mood across the vast swath of UNC fans wasn’t quite what he expected.
“It seemed to me and my coaches and families that in ‘05 it was such a level of enthusiasm – the exhilaration of winning, the thrill of victory was unbelievably high,” Williams said.
This year, he said, that high didn’t feel the same.
“It was strange to us,” he said. “As coaches we felt this might have been a greater accomplishment. It’s harder to do it when you’re expected to do it.”
Williams said that for the coaches, last season was remarkable because of what was achieved with so much at stake for the individual players. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green had all considered turning pro the year before but decided to return. Obviously, all had a tremendous amount at stake, as far as improving their draft stock, but Williams said none of that ever factored into their play.
“From the first day through Detroit, I never talked to one of those kids about, ‘You’re being selfish,’” Williams said. “That was the most satisfying thing.
“And it was even more satisfying because I knew what was being said around them.”
By that, Williams meant the players’ families and associates.
“Last year people around the kids - the families, their friends - helped put even more pressure on them,” Williams said.
But Carolina still won with a torrid NCAA performance.
You can see the video of Williams after Carolina won the 2005 title and his expression is clearly one of relief. But to Williams, this championship was just as gratifying, and perhaps even more so, because so much was expected of Carolina.
Williams was careful to say he wasn’t being critical of UNC fans or say they didn’t appreciate what the 2009 team accomplished.
But his perspective was thought-provoking, especially since Carolina fans turned out in force at the Smith Center for the championship celebration and Tyler Hansbrough is as revered as any Tar Heel player in memory.
“From a coaching standpoint, we were maybe even higher than in ‘05 and yet I didn’t get the feeling our fans felt the same thing,” he said.
Williams isn’t the only coach who felt fans could take exceptional winning for granted.
“At UCLA, you go back, why did John Wooden quit?” Williams asked.
Williams said one fan told Wooden thanks for a championship – and for not letting the fans down like the year before.
Wooden didn’t win the NCAA title in 1974, when UCLA lost to N.C. State. He retired in 1975 after winning the national championship.
Williams said even Dean Smith felt like Carolina fans took some of what UNC achieved in those years for granted.
“Coach Smith would say, ‘Maybe we need to go 8-20 so people would appreciate what we have,’” Williams said.
UNC isn’t looking to do that again. In fact, Williams is quite confident that this young team will be a force in ACC play.
But it’s interesting that Williams begins the season loose, relaxed, confident – and a bit surprised at the reception the 2009 title received.
