Ouch! from the KUSports.com board

Aside from Sly and other Duke fans trying to tweak the Carolina fans, this is really a common and accepted scenario among coaches. 99% of the coaches who are not fired leave for a position they deem as a better opportunity (Coach K is a rarity, which is commendable). So no recruit is going to eliminate Carolina from consideration as a result of this. In fact, if you take your biases out of the equation, it was obvious that Roy anguished over this decision. It was clear that he has very strong feelings toward Kansas, but for him and his family, the move to Carolina was the right decision.

And truth be told, players come and go, there is no good time for a coach to leave...there are always recruits coming in and fans that want the coach to stay. And oftentimes, as I believe is the case here, the commitments have already been made before the opening even presents itself. So it is actually unfair to characterize a coach as "lying" to recruits simply because he is offered and accepts a position after recruits sign. After all, at the time of recruiting, the coach has no reason to believe he will not be their coach the following year...of coarse, unless you believe in conspiracy theories .

Many in the media (including Duke's own Jay Bilas) even talked about Carolina as one of the two premiere coaching positions in the nation (along with Kentucky, I believe). Of coarse that is not in reference to the past couple of years, but the mystique and success the program has garnered over the past 4 decades. So in those terms, it is not exactly a lateral move. But that is still beside the point. The real issue here is that Roy is a Carolina boy, and he and his family wanted to come home. He just felt this is now a better situation for him than remaining at Kansas.

As to why he didn't come 3 years ago, that has been talked about at length if you read the articles or listened to the reports. Williams was VERY good friends with the Kansas AD at the time, Bob Fredrick, and was very close to his players...specifically Hienrich and Collison. Also, when he returned to Kansas to consider the move, there was a huge outpouring from the fans and school urging him to stay. But things have since changed. Not the fan support (until after this move), but Hienrich and Collison are graduating and Bob Fredrick is no longer the AD. So, many of the factors prompting him to turn down the Carolina job 3 years ago are no longer there.

While understandable, it is sad that many of the Kansas fans and media are so bitter over this that they attack and denigrate Williams instead of focusing on what he brought to the program. After all, even though they are losing a great coach, the program is at such a point that it is a promotion for all but a handful of coaches at other schools. Williams also did not leave the cupboard bare, whoever takes over the program is going to have a solid team waiting on him. And I think whoever they get will be an upper echelon coach (such as Bill Self, who is rumored for the position), not some schmuck who coaches his high school girls team to a 4th place finish in their conference. The fans and media should be grateful that he did not leave a mess of NCAA violations, poor players and a bad reputation. He did not just jet off to UNC without a word as Pittsburgh's coach did when he accepted the position at UCLA. He faced the players and told them before saying anything to the media. So even in leaving, he treated them with as much respect as anyone could in that situation.

Bottom line is that you cannot blame Williams for leaving Kansas to come to Carolina. He felt it was the best decision for him and his family. KU will survive, and, in fact, should thrive since he left them a high quality program in good order. They will undoubtedly be able to continue drawing top recruits and maintain its position as one of the elite programs in America. Carolina should also thrive now that they have Williams at the helm, and the entire ACC should become much more competitive and exciting. Everybody has their foe: Ali had Frazier, the Lakers had the Celtics, and Carolina and Duke have each other. Forget Maryland, Wake or State (although if/when they can get their program back to national prominence, the 3 of them will put on quite a show), nobody turns up the heat for Carolina and Duke like the other. When one is down, the entire conference suffers. They bring so much emotion and passion when they play each other that every game is an event...a national event.

 

That was an awesome and well thought out post.You need to copy and post this over on the KY board!Oh well it wouldnt matter anyway they are gonna be mad until they get someone else in there.If its Bill Self then they will justify taking another teams coach

 

whats a ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK anyway.
why would he want to coach a team that offers that chant.

 

nothing else rhymes or even comes close to jayhawk.

 

gayhawk rhymes with jayhawk

 

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner.

Thank you for recognizing this for what it was.

 

A flaming steer?

 

Guess you are glad dook didn't do that to the great rat face since it took him so long to win the big one.

 

10 years at Duke before he won his first one

Took Deano what 17-18 at least.

Roy is still waiting on his after 15 at a big school.

 

Just at dook you are correct Sir, but overall it took him 16-19 years depending on how much of his coaching career you count. So if we are only counting coach K's 10 years at dook before he won his first, then shit Williams is starting at ZERO baby , so hopefully he wins one before his 10th year at UNC.