Roy Williams was on 850 with Adam Gold and Joe Ovies this morning. He talks about various topics we have heard and will hear from now until the season begins such as expectations. I hit some highlights below the jump.
1. Danny Green, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington were all told, with the parents involved that they had a choice. They could return to the team and commit to the team concept of working within whatever role they were given to win a national title for UNC or they could go to the NBA. Roy said if they thought they were coming back to simply showcase their skills and look for 30 shots a game then he’d rather they not and enter the draft. So the question of how to manage players looking to make it on the next level has already been answered by the fact they accepted these terms and came back
2. Roy’s theory as to what happened during the Kansas game was the player came out “tiptoeing through the tulips” as he put it. Roy thinks they were casual and careless to start the game, while Kansas showed up to play. The result was 40-12 after 12 minutes. The problem in Roy’s mind was the players perhaps never grasped what the coaches meant when they talked about not playing casual. Now they know and Roy is making a point of working on this in practice. Casual and careless play will not be tolerated and if it happens in practice it will be addressed so it does not happen during a game.
3. Roy also defended his position on not calling a timeout during the Kansas game. If you were paying attention last season, Adam Gold was the biggest detractor on this saying Roy should have used his timeouts and that was part of the problem. Roy explained that calling a timeout would not have mattered because they had the TV timeouts, made adjustments in the huddle, begged, pleaded and possibly sacrificed a live chicken to get the players attention and nothing worked. The players basically had to get their “heads cleared” on their own and when they did UNC ran off a 38-14 run to close the game to four. Roy also pointed out that he never called timeout during the Boston College game when Tyrese Rice was channeling Michael Jordan. Roy’s position is you work on this stuff in practice and the players know what to do. He would rather save his timeouts should he need them in a close game. The Clemson game in Chapel Hill was a prime example of the benefit of having all your timeouts late.
I am honestly hoping that closes the book on the Kansas game as well as any talk of individuals looking out for themselves but knowing the media the way I do, I doubt it.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Unless there is something acute the coaches pick up on, and can change, I agree that saving the TO’s is the right call. How often do we see UNC go on a run and have the opposing coach call a TO, only to see UNC rip-off another mini run right after the TO. Don’t forget, the other team gets to reset, too…
I’ll bet BD wished he’d saved HIS timeouts last week!
“I am honestly hoping that closes the book on the Kansas game as well as any talk of individuals looking out for themselves but knowing the media the way I do, I doubt it.”
These topics will come up when and if the Tar Heels lose a game or are even trailing at certain points in a game.
It will come up when Danny Green takes an ill advised shot.
It will come up when Ty Lawson goes strong to hole without passing.
It will come up when Wayne Ellington dunks……. YOU name it, those topics will be front and center.
Roy is a HOF coach with a Natty hanging in his office. I think he knows when to use his timeouts.
I like his approach on the players debating the draft. Of course, when you have the kind of recruits that he does both on the bench and on the way, you can be a little more brash with these things. Good for him, and good for Heels fans.
That might close the book on the game, but what about the sticker!!
That is an amazing quote from Roy that he told his players straight out that I don’t want you if you are coming back to showcase your talent. I am sure other coaches would like to say this, but I doubt it would happen.
I remember sitting at the Kansas game and thinking that there were plenty of stoppages during the Kansas run and I could see the coaches working really hard to get us into the game. It just took too long for the players to get into it.
That is how Roy rolls. That is consistent with what he said Friday about offering scholarships to sophomores in high school and doing so with conditions attached they had to meet. He asked them: “Did anyone else attach conditions to their offer” They said: “No, they just made an offer.” Roy runs the show with a firm hand which I greatly appreciate.
Roy teaches, Work Ethic. Period. IMHO, something that is missing today, but seemingly making a come back. Keep it up, and save those TOs. Expectations are just that, results are what get recorded. Roy is working for the later. There will be fluctuations (or static) but the results are clear. Let’s not sweat the little things. Looking at the bigger picture, it is hard to argue with success. All things happen in the appropriate time. Ride the ride, as we may never see a ride like this again.