This week on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” a guest who earned that descriptor throughout a basketball coaching career that spanned half a century at various levels of the game: former University of North Carolina men’s head coach Roy Williams.
Williams won three national titles as the head coach of the Tar Heels, and retired in 2021 as the only head coach in college basketball history to win more than 400 games at two different schools — 418 at Kansas, and 485 at North Carolina, his alma mater. Williams was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame back in 2007 — before two of his three championships — and the court at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill is named for him. On Part 1 of this wide-ranging interview, Williams reflects on his sudden retirement, his rivalry with former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, and consoling Marcus Paige after the heartbreaking 2016 title game loss to Villanova.
On Part 2 of our conversation, Williams talks about the fellow Tar Heel namesake for his son, Scott; his current role as a doting grandfather; and why it seemed like he never used those dadgum time outs. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.
Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .
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