Adios, Roy Williams
Well, Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams has taken the job at his alma mater, North Carolina. Kansas fans and players are upset, and it is understandably difficult to lose a great coach who has been the face of the program for 15 incredibly successful years. But Roy was born and raised in Carolina, went to school there, played there, coached there. His kids graduated from there. The man wants to go home. Who can begrudge him for that? The ironic twist for Kansans is that legendary Tarheel coach Dean Smith isn't from Carolina, but is actually from Topeka, KS, my hometown. So Kansans with very long memories might feel this is adding insult to injury.
Kansas will do just fine. I remember back when they hired Williams to replace Brown, and all the gnashing of teeth that accompanied Brown's departure. Williams was seen as a very solid hire at the time, but also a bit risky. After all, he had never been a head coach before. Guess that was a pretty solid hire, huh? But the point is, change can be a good thing. Kansas has almost always had success, whether it was under Phog Allen, Ted Owens, Larry Brown, or Roy Williams. In fact, the only Kansas coach with a losing career record is one James Naismith, who INVENTED THE GAME. So, they'll be allright. Early speculation has Illinois coach Bill Self as the front-runner. Self has Kansas ties, having been an assistant under Brown during the 1988 championship run. I've seen Self's teams play a fair amount in the Big 10, and I also thought his Tulsa teams were pretty good. Self is a good coach, he's young, and he could be around for awhile. He's an Oklahoma State alum, but you wouldn't think he would leave Kansas for OSU, so there is a legit chance that if KU hired Self, they could have their coach for the next 20 or more years.
Congrats on your dream job, Roy. You earned it. It hasn't been right seeing Carolina struggle these last couple of years, and I suspect you'll have that all straightened out within two years, tops.
10:21:09 AM 
|
|
