Roy Williams
Roy Williams (born August 1, 1950)
Teams coached: Kansas Jayhawks, North Carolina Tar Heels
Kansas record: 418-101 (.805)
North Carolina record: 485-163 (.748)
Overall record: 903-264 (.774)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 3 (2005, 2009, 2017)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 30 (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 19 (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 9 (1991, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017)
- NIT Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 2010)
- NIT Appearances: 1 (2010)
- ACC Regular Season Champion: 9 (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019)
- Big 12 Regular Season Champion: 4 (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003)
- Big Eight Regular Season Champion: 5 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996)
- ACC Tournament Champion: 3 (2007, 2008, 2016)
- Big 12 Tournament Champion: 3 (1997, 1998, 1999)
- Big Eight Tournament Champion: 1 (1992)
Awards:
- AP Coach of the Year: 2 (1992, 2006)
- Naismith Coach of the Year: 1 (1997)
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: 1 (1997)
- Henry Iba Award: 2 (1990, 2006)
- ACC Coach of the Year: 2 (2006, 2011)
- Big 12 Coach of the Year: 3 (1997, 2002, 2003)
- Big Eight Coach of the Year: 4 (1990, 1992, 1995, 1996)
- Gene Bartow Award: 1 (2022)
- John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award (2003)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2006, honored 2022)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2007)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
2003-2021 | North Carolina |
1988-2003 | Kansas |
1978-1988 | North Carolina (asst) |
Roy Williams Facts
- Roy Allen Williams
- Born August 1, 1950
- Hometown: Asheville, North Carolina
- Alma Mater: University of North Carolina (B.Ed., 1972 & M.Ed., 1973)
- Played on the UNC freshman team, then volunteered with the varsity team under legendary Tar Heels’ head coach Dean Smith
- First coaching job was at Charles D. Owen HS in Black Mountain, NC, where he coached basketball, golf and football
- Returned to Chapel Hill in 1978, working ten seasons as a North Carolina assistant under his former coach Smith
- Left in 1988 to become head coach at Kansas, following Larry Brown and a Jayhawks National Championship the season prior
- Took the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament 14 times in 15 seasons (KU was on probation his first year due to violations under Brown) and four trips to the Final Four (1991, 1993, 2002 & 2003)
- Won nine conference titles at Kansas, five in the Big Eight and another four after the shift to the Big 12
- Though he nearly took the job in 2000, Williams eventually left in 2003 to return to his alma mater as Tar Heels head coach
- Won his first NCAA National Championship in 2005, his second year on the job, and won his second four years later
- Went to the NCAA Tournament with UNC in 16 times, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen or better ten times
- After a buzzer-beating loss to Villanova in the 2016 National Championship game, the Tar Heels returned to the 2017 National Championship game to defeat Gonzaga and win Williams’ third title (UNC’s sixth)
- Won nine ACC regular season championships and three ACC Tournament crowns in Chapel Hill
- On April 1, 2021, Williams announced his retirement from coaching after 18 years as UNC head coach, over 40 years in D-I coaching
- Along with his wife, Wanda, has a son, a daughter and two grandchildren
Roy Williams Coaching Tree
- Brett Ballard (Washburn, Baker)
- Hubert Davis (North Carolina)
- Matt Doherty (SMU, FAU, North Carolina, Notre Dame)
- Neil Dougherty (TCU)
- Blake Flickner (Dallas Baptist)
- Jerry Green (Tennessee, Oregon)
- Jerod Haase (Stanford, UAB)
- C.B. McGrath (UNC Wilmington)
- Aaron Miles (Santa Cruz Warriors)
- Ben Miller (UNC Pembroke)
- Wes Miller (UNC Greensboro)
- Kevin Pritchard (Portland Trail Blazers)
- Steve Robinson (Florida State, Tulsa)
- Kevin Stallings (Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Illinois State)
- Mark Turgeon (Maryland, Texas A&M, Wichita State, Jacksonville State)
- Jacque Vaughn (Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic)
- Rex Walters (San Francisco, Florida Atlantic)