The University of North Carolina announced Roy Williams’ retirement from coaching college basketball on April 1 at approximately 9 a.m. (Jayhawk time). Later that afternoon, Roy held a press conference during which he made numerous references to his time at Kansas; if you’re interested in watching the replay, this tweet provides several options.
Roy is a native North Carolinian who attended UNC and began his coaching career at the high school level. He was hired at Kansas after Larry Brown left for the NBA after serving as an assistant under Dean Smith from 1978 to 1988.
Soon after he arrived at KU, the Jayhawks were placed on probation for violations committed by the previous staff, rendering them ineligible for the NCAA Tournament following the 1988-89 season, despite a 19-12 record and six weeks in the top-25 midseason.
In his second season, the Jayhawks defeated Kentucky 150-95 in Allen Fieldhouse, setting a new team record for points scored. Williams would go on to lead KU to 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, establishing an NCAA record streak of 31 consecutive seasons. Roy led the Jayhawks to four Final Four appearances: in 1991, 1993, 2002, and 2003.
The one knock against Roy from a KU standpoint may be what he did not accomplish in Lawrence, namely, he left town without any national championships and several early tournament exits. Under Roy’s tenure, KU entered the NCAA Tournament as a 1-seed five times (1992, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002), reaching the Final Four only once as a top seed. The 1997 Jayhawks, considered one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time, were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by 4-seed Arizona.
Roy’s 2001-02 Jayhawks remain the only Big 12 team to go undefeated, going 16-0. Williams left Kansas as the second-winningest coach in school history, trailing only Phog Allen (418-101 in 15 years; Bill Self has since passed him).
While in Lawrence, Roy was 35-4 against Kansas State and did not lose to the Wildcats after the 1993-94 season. He was also 19-13 against Missouri, but oddly was only 4-3 against the Tigers as the AP’s No. 1 team. His favorite opponent (aside from KSU) was probably Colorado, whom he defeated 33-2.
The Jayhawks were the most successful Division I program in the 1990s. Roy gave us Raef and Scot, Nick and Kirk, 150-95, 62-straight (home wins), 16-0, and the now-famous Jayhawk sticker:
Roy Williams retires with 903 career victories, which ranks him third all-time in Division 1. He is the first (and only) coach in history to win 400+ games at two different universities. He immediately stabilized a North Carolina program that was reeling following three years under Matt Doherty following the probation season that was a result of the Larry Brown era.
Williams is one of eight coaches in Kansas basketball history, and I believe it is fair to say that KU has maintained its “blue-blood” status in college basketball in large part due to Roy’s efforts while he was here.
Congratulations, Coach, and best wishes for a happy retirement!
