Birmingham, Ala. — Named the Big 12’s inaugrural coach of the year earlier this month, Kansas University’s Roy Williams garnered a national honor on Sunday.
He accepted the Boost-Naismith Coach of the Year Award from Lawrence in a live interview on CBS.
“The kids are the ones who deserve credit for this award,” Williams said.
He outdistanced all other college coaches in a vote of his peers, former Naismith winners and national media representatives.
Williams said he continues to have trouble sleeping in the wake of Friday’s 85-82 season-ending loss to Arizona.
“We wanted to play another week, not for myself but for those seniors who won 115 games in their years at Kansas,” Williams said. “The kids are resilient. The kids have kept me going.”
North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who often is praised by Williams, returned the compliment Sunday.
“He cares deeply about his players,” Smith said. “He’s exceptionally bright. Everybody has a weakness, but I’ve not found one in Roy.”
Suffice it to say Williams will miss the senior class of Jerod Haase, Jacque Vaughn, Scot Pollard and B.J. Williams.
“With this team there was more of a trust factor than any in eight or nine years,” Williams said. “The trust and respect I have for them, the way they prioritize makes me let ’em do more than I’d let teams do in the past.
“These kids … if the coaches did not attend practice and we simply told them what to do, I believe they’d do it with the same effort and intensity as if coaches were there.”
Here’s a final look at the accomplishments of the 1996-97 Jayhawks, who went 34-2:
And here are some final senior superlatives, accomplishments of the senior class:
