In a statement, athletic director Bubba Cunningham said Davis is the “best leader we can possibly have” for the program. But they suffered the only losing season of Williams’ career in an injury-plagued 2019-20 season, then returned to the NCAA Tournament this year despite experiencing inconsistency with a young team amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
1 seed in the NCAA Tournament only two years ago. The Tar Heels won a national championship as recently as four years ago while winning a share of the ACC regular-season title to go with a No. Now it’s up to Davis to keep the Tar Heels among the nation’s elite programs. He was a first-round NBA draft pick by the New York Knicks and spent a dozen seasons in the league.Īfter his playing career, Davis spent seven years with ESPN as a college basketball analyst until Williams asked Davis to join his staff in 2012 - which Davis said at the time was “a total surprise.” He had also served as head coach of the UNC junior varsity team and oversaw the program’s charitable endeavors.ĭavis, the nephew of former UNC player and NBA All-Star Walter Davis, played for Smith from 1988-92 and still holds the program record for career 3-point percentage (.435). “I would not be here without Coach Dean Smith, Coach Bill Guthridge and Coach Roy Williams they taught me so much – and I’m eager to walk their path in my shoes and with my personality.”ĭavis had been on Williams’ staff since 2012 as a bench coach, recruiter and scout, including a run to the 2016 NCAA title game and then the championship a year later. Through it all, Williams always had the respect of his peers.“I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to lead this program,” Davis said. "The last two years have been really hard," Williams said. Williams was 45-13 all-time in the NCAA tournament with the Tar Heels. It was Williams' only loss in the opening round and his 30 th overall appearance in the tourney. In his final game leading the Tar Heels, UNC lost to Wisconsin in the first round of the NCAA tournament last month. In his 33 years as a head coach, he only missed the NCAA tournament two other times: his first season at Kansas and in 2010, a run to the NIT final with UNC. Williams had just one losing season in his tenure at North Carolina, a 14-19 record in the 2019-20 season. In the the span of his 18 seasons at UNC, the Tar Heels were the only men's team to win three national championships. His last game in the Dean Smith Center was an 18-point win over rival Duke. Under Williams' watch, UNC had a 444-57 record at home, an 88.6 winning percentage. Williams was finally lured back to UNC in 2003, six seasons after Smith ― his mentor ― retired. He took the reins of the Jayhawks in 1988 and led Kansas to four Final Fours and four conference tournament championships across 15 seasons. "I could never come close to matching what Coach Smith did, but every day I tried to make him proud," Williams said. He leaves his post on the Tar Heels' bench as one of the most accomplished college basketball coaches of all time. Williams, 70, is a native of Marion, N.C., and a 1972 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. I'm really proud of what we accomplished." "I never had any day where I didn't give my absolute best. I no longer feel that I am the right man for the job. "No one has ever enjoyed coaching like I have. I've loved it," Williams said at a press conference at the Smith Center on Thursday. Williams also guided UNC to two other Final Fours, nine ACC regular season titles and three ACC tournament championships. The 2007 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee led the UNC Tar Heels to three national championships, winning titles in 2005, 20. The head coach at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill announced his retirement Thursday morning. He led the Tar Heels to three NCAA championships.Īfter 33 seasons as a head coach in men's college basketball, Roy Williams is hanging up his whistle and calling it quits. Roy Williams of the University of North Carolina is retiring after 33 seasons and 903 wins as a college basketball head coach.
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