Old North News

If Tar Heels fans needed any more proof that former basketball Coach Roy Williams bleeds Carolina blue, they need only consider his comments after his protégé won Sunday’s game to take the University of North Carolina (UNC) to the Final Four.

“It’s perhaps, for me, the greatest moment in my basketball career,” Williams said in a keepingitheel.com report. “I’ve never had any more faith and love for one man and to think that he’s just won it — he’s been better than I ever was, right now.” 

The mark of a good coaching mentor is to take someone under his wing and teach him not about X’s and O’s, but about building team spirit and sharing success with the players. Fans saw that emerge in first-year Coach Hubert Davis after UNC handled St. Peter’s — the surprise of the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball tournament, as it advanced to the Elite Eight as a 15 seed — 69-49 on Sunday.

Davis shrugged off the opportunity to take credit for the win, instead giving the credit to his players. More than that, though, after the game Davis was caught on film giving a tip of the hat to Williams, who was the head coach while Davis was learning the ropes as an assistant at UNC from 2012-2021. He could be seen pointing to the stands where Williams was seated and mouthing the words “thank you” to his mentor.

Williams then shifted the limelight back to Davis, hinting that Davis is already better than he ever was, something that Davis shrugs off. Maybe it’s too early for comparisons, but Williams is certainly right if you just compare first years. In his inaugural season at the University of Kansas, Williams took the Jayhawks to a 19-12 record, but they missed out on an invite to the NCAA tourney, according to sportsreference.com. 

To get where he stands now — ready to embark on a Final Four contest against neighboring rival Duke University — Davis had an uphill battle. When he was named as Williams’ successor, some fans grumbled on social media because he had no head coaching experience. 

With some rough spots in the season, critics were quick to express disappointment. That has been hushed as Carolina has been playing its most consistent basketball of the season in recent weeks.

With that, Davis is “quickly gaining the approval of a passionate fan base that adored Williams and had a difficult time letting him go. Now, it appears as if most of them are ready to roll with Davis, embracing him fully following one of the most unexpected turnarounds we’ve seen in a long, long time,” keepingitheel.com said.