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Happy 20th anniversary to Roy Williams.
In 2004, Williams was in his first full calendar year as head coach of the Tar Heels. He left Kansas in the summer of 2003 and quickly rebuilt a program that had been engulfed in controversy under Matt Doherty, who was hired after Ol’ Roy turned the job down in 2000.
Williams inherited a talented roster that was short in fundamentals and a penchant for hard work that was his identity. Sophomores Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May were returning starters with seniors Jackie Manuel and Jawad Williams, who were on the infamous 8-20 team in 2001-02. The most important addition was 6-11 Marvin Williams, the freshman whom his namesake had recruited at Kansas but followed him to UNC.
In Carolina’s return to the 2004 NCAA Tournament after a two-year absence, the Heels lost in the second round to 12th-ranked Texas in Denver, where Williams spent as much time lecturing his players on the bench and in timeouts as he was coaching to win.
The off-season was total dedication to defense and playing hard, and when Marvin arrived in the summer from Washington UNC had its sixth man and eventual ACC Rookie of the Year. Carolina opened the season against Santa Clara in Oakland on the way to the Maui Invitational. Without Felton, the Tar Heels lost 77-66 with Quentin Thomas at the point.
Maui has long been Williams’ favorite road destination because of the beaches and golf courses. But his team was all business at the Lahaina Civic Center, where they thumped BYU, Tennessee and Iowa, all by double figures. Carolina went on to win three NCAA titles, all preceded by taking home the trophy and the commemorative surfboard from Maui.
With college basketball starting earlier these days, the Tar Heels are 2-1 as they stop in Honolulu for an 11:30 EST game at the University of Hawai’i, which is 4-0 plus two exhibition wins and won’t be a cakewalk for the mainland visitors. They will miss Justin McKoy who had transferred out there from UNC as a fifth-year senior, started all 34 games for the Rainbows and averaged 12.4 points and 6 rebounds. Hawaii is led by 6-10 grad student Tanner Christensen, averaging 17.5 points, and three others who are in double figures.
The tough stuff begins Monday in Maui against unranked Dayton, but No. 10 Carolina is bound to play two ranked opponents that could include two-time defending NCAA champion UConn in the Wednesday title game.
All-time, the Tar Heels are 22-4 in eight Maui invitationals, trailing only Duke’s 18-1 mark in six appearances. Bill Guthridge’s 2000 (and last UNC) team won the Maui title. Dean Smith lost twice in Maui but won two Rainbow Classics in Honolulu earlier. Let’s give Roy a happy 20th anniversary present!
Featured image via Todd Melet
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.
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