UNC Basketball: Roy Williams addresses media before Final Four

Head coach Roy Williams spoke on the North Carolina Tar Heels upcoming matchup against the Oregon Ducks on Saturday

The North Carolina Tar Heels are preparing for their biggest game of the season when they take on the Oregon Ducks in the Final Four.

UNC arrived in Phoenix on Tuesday night and have used Arizona State’s facilities to practice as they get ready for Saturday.

On Thursday, head coach Roy Williams met with the media and he was sporting a bruise on his lower lip.

Williams started the press conference by explaining that he was hit in the mouth by a basketball during practice and that it was his fault.

But Williams wasn’t there to talk about his lip but rather the Tar Heels upcoming matchup with the Ducks.

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After UNC’s win over Kentucky, the spirits are at an all-time for the season. Although the two teams met in December, last Sunday’s game was different.

Theo Pinson’s presence has been a big boost for the Tar Heels this season and Williams spoke on that.

“The easiest way is he’s really a playmaker. He really is,” Williams said. “He gets more credit for being a defensive player than he really is. But he doesn’t get nearly as much credit, maybe, for being a playmaker that he is. Every now and then he doesn’t see the defense like a quarterback that has a high turnover ratio within interceptions. But he sees things happening quicker, is able to make a decision quicker, and able to make the play quicker than probably anybody on our team.”

UNC is making their second-straight trip to the Final Four after reaching the national title game last season.

The Tar Heels are out for some redemption after having their hearts broke on a Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater. With some of those players still on the roster, they have been itching to get back to this point.

Most of those players that are back for the Tar Heels are upperclassman but it doesn’t necessarily give UNC an advantage.

All three teams joining the Tar Heels are led by upperclassman, rather than adopting the one-and-done strategy like Kentucky, Kansas or Duke.

But for Williams, it doesn’t matter if a player is a certain year. All that matters is how well the team is playing at this point.

“You know, the easy answer would be that more experience handles tournament play better,” Williams said. “But I think it was only three years ago when Duke won it with three or four freshmen starters, but that would be the easy answer. But I just think that there’s so many really good players, so many really good teams that you want to be playing your best right at the end of the year, and you have a chance.”

Oregon will be one of the toughest challenges yet for the Tar Heels.

UNC will have to stop the firepower the Ducks have, which was on display in their win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday night.

That effort was led by the trio of Tyler Dorsey, Dillon Brooks and Jordan Bell who all played very well in the big win.

Now it’s up to UNC to slow them down and that might mean Roy putting a big an on a guard like Brooks. It’s something UNC has done before this year.

“A big guy is going to possibly be on Dillon Brooks to start with because we’re going to start two big guys,” Williams said. “But that’s who we are. And we’re going to do that. And if it doesn’t work, we’ll try to make some changes. But I always say that if it’s hard for our big guy to get out on the court and play them, I hope it’s hard for the perimeter player to have a difficult time guarding our guy inside.”

It wasn’t all serious business during the press conference, however. Williams was asked about his Southern slang and ended his answer with “I’m just being Roy. I don’t know of that’s good or bad.”

Next: Isaiah Hicks is the X-Factor for UNC

The Tar Heels and Ducks will tipoff around 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday, shortly after Gonzaga and South Carolina play.

Check back for more on the Tar Heels including pre and postgame coverage.

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