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Assigned Reading: '[Roy Williams] is absolutely exhausted’

Roy Williams

North Carolina needed overtime to defeat in-state rival Davidson, 97-85, on Saturday evening. It was the Tar Heels first game since the debacle surround last season’s leading scorer, P.J. Hairston had come to an end.

The university decided to not send in a reinstatement request on Hairston’s behalf, as it had done for guard Leslie McDonald, who was reinstated on Wednesday afternoon before the Tar Heels hosted Texas. Last week answered questions that had been surrounding the program since the summer, when Hairston continued to make off the court news. Those issues extended into the first portion of the season, as he and McDonald sat for the first nine games of the season due to eligibility issues.

The last few months have taken its toll on the Hall of Fame coach, and as his son Scott told Jason King of Bleacher Report, Williams is “absolutely exhausted.”

From King:

During a 30-minute interview last week, Williams told Bleacher Report that the past six months has been the most difficult stretch of his Hall of Fame career.

“I never in my life thought I’d have these kind of things happen,” said Williams, 63. “It’s cast a light on our program that I don’t like, and it’s cast a light on me that I don’t like at all.”

During his 25 years as a head coach, Williams’ reputation has been defined by integrity and character. Rare are the times his players have encountered trouble with the law, and NCAA improprieties have almost been unheard of on a Williams-coached team.

Until now.

“We’ve always done things the right way,” Williams said. “We’ve always stayed away from negative things. Yet for the last six months, I feel like that’s all that I’ve dealt with.”


Scott told King that he and his mother have tried to get Williams to retire for five years, but to no avail. During the short holiday break, Williams is continuing to battle flu-like symptoms, though, when he returns to the floor on Friday, he hopes the sickness and stress will be behind him. Read the full article here

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