Roy Williams is a man in the hot seat, and he knows it.
The 37-year-old native of Asheville, N.C., was named Friday as Kansas University’s new head basketball coach. He will take over a team that Larry Brown coached for five years and let to a national championship before resigning last month to become head coach of the professional San Antonio Spurs.
At a press conference Friday, Williams acknowledged that Brown and the national championship would be a “tough act to follow.” The new coach, however, comes to Kansas from a background that many people should like. He has spent 10 years as an assistant coach under Dean Smith, a mentor of Brown’s as well as a native of Kansas. Smith’s strong recommendation was a key factor in Williams’ hiring, according to KU athletic director Bob Frederick.
During Williams’ time at North Carolina, 160 of the team’s 166 seniors completed degrees, which should be a welcome sign to KU faculty and administrators. At North Carolina, he also has been part of a strong basketball program with a strong basketball tradition, similar to KU’s.
And what may be the most welcome change for rumor-weary KU fans is that Williams says he wants to become part of a long basketball tradition at KU.
“My hope,” the new coach said Friday, “is you don’t have to go to another press conference to hire a new head coach for the next 30 years.”
Welcome to Lawrence, Roy
