Last summer, Roy Williams was contacted about the Kentucky an Ohio State basketball openings.
Most recently, he was mentioned as a possible candidate for Florida’s vacant head coaching post.
Some worry-wart Kansas fans – frazzled after five years of Larry Brown rumors – have started to gnaw their fingernails while speculating whether Williams, a 39-year-old North Carolina graduate, is going to listen to potential suitors or stick around.
“A goal of mine is to be able to retire from coaching. If I do it at the University of Kansas, I’d be very happy. It’d mean our graduation rates are good and our team was successful,” Williams said.
“I don’t know if the people of Lawrence can stomach me that long,” he added grinning.
Williams insists he’s no job-hopper.
“Maybe I’m not goal-oriented enough to be a millionaire at 50,” said Williams, who has struck it rich this season, leading KU to a berth in the NCAA tournament one year after crippling probation kept Kansas from the postseason bash.
“A lot of coaches are on the five-year plan, the 10-year plan. I coulda stayed at Carolina another 20 years and been happy.”
As it was, he spent 10 years assisting Dean Smith on Tobacco Road.
It’s believed the loyal Carolina grad will get a serious look when KU alum Smith decides to retire, perhaps in this decade.
“It’s flattering, but I don’t think there will ever be another Dean Smith,” said Williams, who give Smith credit for “everything I know about coaching. What he has done is amazing. If I can do 1/100th as much for kids as he does, I’d consider myself a success.
“I couldn’t care less what jobs are coming open,” Williams continued. “At North Carolina, I went to the Final Four twice in 10 years. In ’81 and ’82, I went to the Final Four, but never the convention ballroom, the hotel lobby.
“I was not interested in hearing who was fired, hired. Roy Williams … if I like a situation, it’s good. A coaching buddy of mine said I shouldn’t say these things, that people will get comfortable with me and I’ll get no raises or anything.
“Last year I had an opportunity to pursue a couple of good jobs. It upset some people the way it was handled (no announcing his disinterest in the Ohio State post right away). But I think people are aware I’m very happy here. My family is very happy here.”
Williams’ family hasn’t seen as much of him since he’s become a head coach. He’s “taken three days off” total since arriving.
“Nobody is gonna outwork Roy Williams,” he’s said more than once.
He’s been on a whirlwind since his sophomore year at North Carolina. A walk-on his freshman year, he left the basketball team.
“I played as a freshman, but I had to get a job to stay in school,” said Williams, a native of Asheville, N.C. “I officiated in the intramural department. My senior year I was supervisor of officials. In the department, there were 48 games a night. I needed two officials at each game. At that time, coach Smith and (Bill) Guthridge allowed me to take notes at practices. It was really valuable to me.”
As were his five years as head coach at Owen High in Swannanoa, N.C.
“I coached five years in high school making mistakes,” Williams grins. “I’ve still got our practice notes now as well as notes from my years at Carolina.
“Let’s see,” he said pulling out a cabinet drawer in his office. “Here are notes from 1979-80 season. Here’s our No. 1 in-bounds play, preseason fastbreak drills, defensive drills. I could start a good fire one of these days.”
Losing those old practice plans would be traumatic.
“Coach Smith teaches you to use things that would fit and to be yourself,” said Williams.
“In New York at the NIT, I got mad because they kept saying the ‘Carolina system, Carolina system.’ I talked to coach Smith and he said he loved my comments about that. He said to give credit where it belongs, to the kids, not the system.
“I’m not so intelligent to be innovative. I steal stuff. But we’ve made some changes. We’ve used a 1-3-1 half-court trap. Carolina doesn’t play that. Coach Smith says don’t play something just because you played it before, make it fit your personnel.”
Willingness to borrow from Smith, yet integrate his own ideas have worked for Williams.
“I am not surprised we’ve been successful,” he said. “I did feel on the court I could do it. But the kids are the ones who deserve the credit. They did love coach brown and had respect fro him, but when I came I was the coach. Whether they like it or not, they had to live with Roy Williams.
“They were so receptive to the change, at the time, there were a lot of similarities. Our defensive philosophies are similar. That part of the transition was easy.
“I asked the kids to make some changes and they made ’em easily. Never at one time did I feel resentment, lack of trust or respect. I think because they’re good kids, they accepted me as a good guy who knew what he was doing.”
He won the “kids” over quickly and the KU fans have come along, also.
Right after Williams was hired, reaction had been “Who?”
“I know they were disappointed they got no Mike Krzyzewski or Gene Keady,” said Williams. “Even then the biggest thing is I feel comfortable with what I could do
“You’d think coaches would jump at the chance to come to Kansas. They didn’t. There were problems (probation related) and are still. The bob Fredericks, Gene Budigs, Judith Ramaleys, the administration here felt comfortable with me and I felt that. A long time ago, something I got from coach Smith, is you can’t control what people think.
“I said ‘If I do the job, if we’re successful, they’ll like Roy Willliams. If not, they won’t like Roy Williams.”
If Williams has his way, his KU teams will always be know for some special qualities.
“Two biggest characteristics I want us to be known by is we are gonna play unbelievably hard for 40 minutes and they other thing is we’re gonna be unselfish,” Williams said. “If a team does that, it’s gonna be all right.”