Former UNC basketball standouts set to join forces on the sidelines at Monmouth

King Rice and Shammond Williams never shared the court together at North Carolina, but their UNC ties will now have them working together on the sidelines.

Rice, Monmouth University's men's basketball head coach, has hired Williams as an assistant coach.

King Rice adds a fellow former Tar Heel to his Monmouth coaching staff

With 20+ years of professional basketball experience as a player along with 13 years of collegiate coaching experience, Williams adds an experienced coach to King's staff for the 2026-2027 season and beyond.

Williams has extensive coaching experience. He most recently served as the assistant coach and interim head coach at the University of Denver during the 2024-25 season. Before his stint in Denver, Williams spent three years with the Old Dominion women's basketball program, helping them post three consecutive 20+-win seasons.

The former Tar Heel also coached at Western Kentucky (2016-17), Tulane (2013-16), and Furman (2012-13), and earned individual accolades. Williams was named a Top Three Recruiter in Conference USA by Sporting News in 2017 and one of the Most Influential Assistant Coaches in Mid-Major Basketball by Silver Waves Media in 2022, showing how he's been a rising star in the coaching ranks leading up to this opportunity.

Now, Williams will look to help Rice guide Monmouth, bringing some Tar Heel flavor to West Long Branch, New Jersey.

As you could expect, Rice is thrilled to be adding fellow former Tar Heel Shammond Williams to his coaching staff:

"We are extremely excited to welcome Shammond to our staff. He has an outstanding playing career, playing professionally for 16 years, including nine years in the NBA, and has built a strong career since retiring from playing. He brings a wealth of knowledge from both his playing and coaching experiences, which will be a great asset to our program."

Rice also made a mention of their connection through North Carolina, as this new partnership didn't just happen out of the blue:

"Shammond is also another member of the North Carolina family, and we have spent countless hours over the years talking basketball. Additionally, Shammond helped us in the past with the recruitment of Justin Ray, so he already has a connection to our program and understands what we are about. We are very excited to have him here and look forward to what he will bring to Monmouth Basketball."

This is another perfect example of how deep the Carolina family runs. Although Rice and Williams didn't play on the same team in Chapel Hill, they developed a relationship through the university, which helped make this pairing possible. It shows why alumni weekends, like the one Michael Malone perfectly executed a few weeks ago, mean so much to these former Tar Heels: they let former players and coaches stay connected to the program and build relationships with other former Tar Heels.

Of course, Tar Heel fans have been rooting for King Rice for years, but that interest just took another step up with the addition of Williams to the coaching staff. You simply have to root for former Tar Heels (as long as their team isn't playing against UNC!).

You know what they say: once a Tar Heel, always a Tar Heel. Now, two former Tar Heels are set to embark on a new coaching journey together, which will be absolutely epic to witness.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow