Roy Williams(III)

One of the best coaches in college basketball today and possibly ever, Roy Williams was from humble beginnnings. Raised in Asheville, North Carolina, Williams was raised by his mother after his father left them. In Asheville, Williams was on the high school basketball team at T.C. Robertson High School where he was recruited to play at North Carolina by Dean Smith. Although he only played one year of Junior Varsity at North Carolina, Williams stayed to receive his Bachelor's Degree in 1972. The next year, Williams got his M.A.T. from North Carolina and began his coaching career. His coaching career began when he was the coach of the boy's basketball, 9th grade and golf teams at Charles D. Owen Swannanoa High School in North Carolina for five years and served as the athletic director his last two years there. Before the start of the 1978-1979 season, Dean Smith called on Roy to join the coaching staff at North Carolina. During that tenure, the Tar Heels played for two national championships and winning one. Perhaps the biggest coup for Roy Williams as a coach was recruiting a kid from North Carolina who dreamed of having a shoe named after him. The kid: Michael Jordan. Roy's discovery and landing got North Carolina their first national championship under Dean Smith. Carolina continued to have success and Williams was beginning to get consideration for various coaching jobs, but he landed the job at the University of Kansas after the Jayhawks won the 1988 National Championship. Problems awaited Roy when he took the job at Kansas. First, the Jayhawks were placed on probation, yet were able to maintain their status as champions. The other was the graduation of Kansas basketball legend Danny Manning. Despite that, Williams was able to place Kansas in the Final Four twice in his first five years as head coach. Both times, the Jayhawks faced Dean Smith and North Carolina. In 1991, Kansas won, but in 1993, the Tar Heels triumphed. Williams is the fastet coach to win 300 games in NCAA history and may very well be on pace to break his mentor's record for wins in a career. Recently, Williams was offered his dream job at North Carolina when Bill Guthridge resigned as head coach. Career coaching record as of 1/23/2001: 345-83 (.806 Win Percentage)