Mayer: Roy found real loyalty here in Kansas

By Mark Fagan     Apr 20, 2003

There’s all this mystique about roots, herbs, bloodlines and such that were critical determinants in Roy Williams’ hegira to the homeland. He’s devotedly grateful to North Carolina for all the things it did for him in the 15 years or so before he came into the Kansas basketball picture.

Roy figured he owed Carolina more than he did KU where he was allowed to blossom and flourish. Let’s argue that.

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Pardon the prejudice and parochialism of a flatlander. You can make a case that the Kansas faithful did a helluva lot more for Old Roy, or certainly as much, as the Blue and White zealots over the long haul.

I’m somebody who consistently and firmly supported the guy, who feels betrayed, same as so many others, mainly his deserted players. Boy, did they get a kick in the gut, like no parade, to begin with. With their great season, they deserved far, far better focus and praise. Roy (and Dean Smith) cheated the hell out of them.

Thank heaven for the staff, players and all who created such a positive, heartwarming atmosphere for the awards ceremonies. They did it with great class and dignity and pulled Old Roy’s sizzling butt off the griddle.

As for Roy’s penchant for loyalty, how about the Carolina Cutthroats he’ll inherit? They went behind buddy Matt Doherty’s back to get Matt fired. Consider the disillusioned, loyalty-drilled KU kids Roy left in the lurch. Boy, did their behavior and that marvelous 2002-03 video dissolve a lot of black clouds! Roy BETTER be grateful!

Strip it down: KU and its people gave Roy that first chance when he was a nothing, then backed him to the hilt. End result, the school got rid of Al Bohl, a poor-hire, smoke-and-mirrors athletic director who rankled Roy. More often than not, Kansas gave the celebrated coach Jesus in a jug with the stopper in his hand — for 15 years.

Sure, Roy grew up in Carolina, dreamed of being a Tar Heel, got to play on a freshman squad, earned a pair of degrees, then high school-coached five years. As a budding assistant at UNC he labored on behalf of Smith.

He often worked for coolie wages just to be near the guru for the 10 seasons prior to coming to KU. Roy more than earned his UNC keep in a setting where they’d pay no more than necessary to have a reliable, promising, dedicated go-fer.

But you take any 15-year segment of Roy as a promising apprentice and Dean-worshipper and compare what UNC gave him in contrast to all the goodies he got at Kansas. I’m horribly jaded, but I think KU did every bit as well by the guy as he deserved considering he can be demanding, thin-skinned and lousily temperamental, although selectively charming.

Where did coach Williams gain fame and attention as an icon? In Carolina? Nope. Right “out there” in little old Kansas.

Smith, the noted Kansas graduate who batted one for two in luring Roy back, has toppled terribly in the minds of KU fans. Don’t think it’d be good for him to bounce back here soon. However, he’s actually just as outstanding a citizen now as two weeks ago. Same for Roy. They just turned briefly treasonous and that’s a huge scar on their nifty portfolios.

I can’t recall anything as intense as the rage and rancor KU fans have expressed about a once-revered coach and his mentor. It erupted on the scene after Monday’s departure for a lovefest of UNC Heels.

The “crapnet”, which irked Roy so often, reverberated speedily with vitriol and disgust. Wave after wave of resentment and displeasure roared in. Lots of it was brutal.

Folks felt violated by Roy, assassinated by Smith and were just plain sick about apparent lies and delusions. Again, the deserving KU players and recruits got shafted hardest and deepest. Too much Roy, not enough Jayhawks. That’s the worst sin. The awards event helped, though. Any new coach should be delighted by the inheritance of such tradition and such quality kids.

An equally big villain was Doherty, who was expected to get Carolina rolling and failed so miserably in three years. If he’d measured up, there never would have been an opening to allow Smith to beckon again.

Sure, Roy has a father and a sister whose health is not the best, feels grateful son Scott could play as a walk-on under Smith, has a dear wife, Wanda, with folks back there and a deep affection for the region. That’s heavy baggage.

Roy says his late mother taught him to do the right thing, even if it isn’t always what he wants to do. He says he did the right thing three years ago with “I’m stayin'” at Kansas because of commitments to players. Yet you get the notion it’s not what he really wanted. Perhaps the disappointment of doing what he “wonted” to do in 2000 has been festering for three years.

Then along comes the Doherty Debacle that opens the door again, allowing Roy to do something he not only considers right but which he, Wanda and the family really prefer. This time, however, he deserted 11 trusting young men on his squad (Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich are done, Drew Gooden’s rich) and left four key recruits in limbo.

Yet if KU hires Bill Self from Illinois, imagine how Bill’s players, recruits and fans will rise up. We’ll be the al Qaeda. Perspective often depends on whose ox is being gored. Still, Self is not a 15-year fixture who made such big, glitzy promises.

Williams may figure he did the right thing, but his players, recruits and support staff don’t fully endorse it. He bailed out on them. They healed enough to rally with dignity and courage to save his butt from major embarrassment Thursday night — all for the good of KU. Will the UNC “family” be so considerate?

So now that I know anything I write won’t ruffle Roy’s ultra-tender sensitivities enough to cause him to run off to Carolina, a point of order.

During KU’s stirring Big 12 Conference victory over Texas this season, Bryant Nash sank a three-pointer, was fouled in the act, then wallowed on the floor like a microwaved hot dog. I noted that was tacky enough. But the real crime was that Nash got up and bricked a crucial free throw when a point meant so very much. If you hot-dog, you should produce!

Either Roy read it wrong or whoever pointed it out didn’t catch the full message. The main gripe was the clanked free throw. At the 105th anniversary cage banquet, ultra-loyalist Williams declared that the barb of protege Nash “pissed me off” (his terms). Roy admitted that emission made him feel better, people laughed and I was delighted to make Mr. Big happy on that auspicious occasion.

But maybe if Roy’d devoted less time to pinging me and more time addressing KU’s costly free-throw weaknesses, maybe he’d have brought home that national championship he covets. Ray Charles with the aid of a sonic device on the rim might do better than 12 out of 30 free shots when nobody is guarding you in a national-title game.

Petty? Childish? Sure. But that’s one I couldn’t resist after all the years of backing Williams as a man who kept promises and who was drop-dead loyal to his kids. It sure makes ME feel better.

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