Written by Bill Reiter at CBSSports.com
Roy Williams, another national championship in hand , his players and assistant coaches for a brief moment circling him in celebration, stood alone. Solitary. His body rigid with the sheer magnitude of it, with the greatness of a career now with few peers.
There will be time later to talk scandals or an oppressively ugly game or a trio of officials who choked on everything but their whistles.
Right now, in the aftermath of North Carolina’s 71-65 win against Gonzaga in the NCAA championship game, there should only be this: In an era and in a field brimming with coaching brilliance, Roy Williams has become one of the greatest men’s basketball coaches of all time.
There is, with Williams, a tendency to glom to the less-than-favorable headlines that have come out of Chapel Hill. Or to disbelieve the goofy aw-shucks vibe. Or to just look past the sheer level of his accomplishments and coaching prowess. Feel free on the first two, I’m not likely to dissuade you if that’s your focus.
But time to let No. 3 go. The man is a savant, and the history he carved for himself with this title is now beyond dispute.
On Monday, in besting a Gonzaga team that was as formidable as any other in the country, Williams and his Tar Heels carved that history despite the ugliness on both sides of the court. UNC shot a painfully abysmal 14.8 percent on 27 three-point shots. That means they made just four.
They were out-rebounded, 49-46, and they were called for 22 personal fouls, just as many as the Zags totaled. Yet Roy’s skill in marshaling his team and in responding against great coaches like Mark Few won the day. They won the points-in-the-paint battle, 40-18, and closed out the game with the steely grit you need in ugly games experienced under the severest of pressure.
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