Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Top 15 moments under Roy Williams

By Zack Pearson

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 04: Tyler Hansbrough #50 of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 83-76 during their game on March 4, 2006 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - MARCH 04: Tyler Hansbrough #50 of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels celebrates after defeating the Duke Blue Devils 83-76 during their game on March 4, 2006 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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CHAPEL HILL, NC – FEBRUARY 09: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during their game against the Miami Hurricanes at Dean Smith Center on February 9, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. UNC won 88-85 in OT. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC – FEBRUARY 09: Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts during their game against the Miami Hurricanes at Dean Smith Center on February 9, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. UNC won 88-85 in OT. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

Roy Williams’ 880th win

By Nick Delahanty

Roy Williams had a lot of head coaching victories during his career, 903 to be exact. Among all those wins, none may be more monumental in Williams’ career than win number 880.

On January 25, 2020, North Carolina defeated Miami 94-71 in a Saturday afternoon contest in Chapel Hill. With the win, Williams passed legendary head coach Dean Smith for the fourth-most in Division 1 men’s basketball history.

Smith was Williams’ mentor, as the two created a special bond through their mutual love for coaching. After beginning his coaching career at the high school level, Williams earned his first opportunity at the collegiate level as a member of Coach Smith’s staff at North Carolina. Williams would spend ten years as an assistant at Chapel Hill, having the distinct opportunity to work alongside the Tar Heels’ legendary head coach.

With a recommendation from Smith, the Kansas Jayhawks would take a chance on Williams as their head coach in 1988. Williams proved he was the right man for the job, as he posted a 418-101 record over his 15 seasons at the helm.
Although he had a lot of success at Kansas, it was time to return to Chapel Hill in 2003. After Smith retired in 1997, the program struggled over the next six seasons, as they went through two head coaching during that span. In need of getting the program back on track, Smith clearly identified Williams as the right man for the job.

Boy, was Smith right about that!

Williams proved to be the right man to take over. Over his 18 seasons at the helm, Williams led the Tar Heels to three National Championships and got the program back on track, just as Smith expected he would.

Now, Williams will never take any personal credit for his or the team’s success. If you ask him, he will without a doubt tell you that Smith was the greatest coach to ever live, and doesn’t feel that he even belongs in the same category. Williams holds his mentor in high regard, and nothing will change his mind about that.

However, Williams definitely had some big shoes to fill, and quite frankly, did a tremendous job of filling them. Win number 880 might just be another win in Williams’ eyes, but for those of us that have followed his career closely, the victory is much more than that.

It’s safe to say that Coach Smith is smiling down and is very proud of what his mentee accomplished during his illustrious coaching career.

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