NEW YORK--Now five months since being named head basketball coach at North Carolina, Roy Williams' list of priorities is topped with the responsibilities of unpacking a seemingly endless number of boxes and getting to know the on and off the court tendencies of his new team.
"The transition has been all consuming," Williams told The Chronicle. "There is not a moment in the day where you are not thinking about it."
While cardboard boxes and moving into a new home have been chores, Williams' most challenging task has been getting to know his new players. Due to NCAA regulations that govern practice time, Williams has only been able to work his new team out twice since his arrival in Chapel Hill.
"Getting to the kids has been the most difficult thing because right after we got there school was over with," Williams said. "Most difficult has been getting a feel for the kids we have."
Once the season begins in November, Williams predicts that motivating his group of talented players, especially in practice, will be his staunchest challenge.
"The hardest thing will be to understand how hard we have to work," Williams said. "We do have some gifted kids, but we've got to explain to them and show them and get them to understand how hungry they have to be."
Nick Collison, who Williams coached for the past four seasons at Kansas, does not have any doubts about his former coach's ability to inspire his new team.
"He will get them to play very hard and be motivated," Collison told The Chronicle. "You can be sure of that."
Before departing for the head coaching post at Kansas in 1988, Williams served as an assistant coach under the legendary Dean Smith. In his 15 seasons coaching the Jayhawks, he led his team to four Final Fours. Most recently, with rumors about a return to North Carolina swirling, Kansas was defeated by Syracuse in the 2003 national title game.
While enjoying his 15 years in Lawrence, Ka., establishing himself as one of the top head coaches of the era, Williams relishes the opportunity to return to his roots in the ACC and once again taking part in some college basketball's most vibrant rivalries.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to the ACC. The Big 12 is a great league, but again, this is home. As a kid I grew up loving ACC basketball so that part of it is going to be a thrill and a big-time challenge."
Almost immediately after Williams decided to return to his alma mater, the ACC became entangled in a complex expansion process that ultimately added Miami and Virginia Tech to a 50 year-old conference. While slightly baffled by the process and decision, Williams remains unfazed.
"It is sort of mindboggling. It is sort of silly the way it has been handled. For us as basketball coaches we understand it was made for football dollars. I'm just going to coach and whoever is on the other side we will play."
Further occupying the Asheville, N.C. native has been the need to recruit four players to join the team in 2004. North Carolina has just one incoming freshman this winter, Justin Bohlander, and the possible departure of several current players to the NBA make a strong recruiting class a priority.
To date, Williams has commitments from two players and remains optimistic about finding top-notch talent to fill out his roster for the 2004-2005 season. North Carolina native JamesOn Curry and power forward Marvin Williams have already committed to the program according to Rivals.com.
Williams is also reportedly strongly pursuing Shaun Livingston, who is considered one of the top players in the nation and is also being heavily recruited by the Blue Devils. However, Livingston is reportedly more interested in Duke and Arizona, although North Carolina remains on his list.
Despite still needing two additional players for next year's team, Williams is already recruiting for the 2005-2006 season. High school junior Greg Paulus is strongly considering attending North Carolina as well as Duke and Notre Dame. The 6-foot-1 New York native is likely to make his decision within the next several weeks.
The battles between Williams and Krzyzewski over Paulus and Livingston are just the start of what should be a litany of such off-the-court recruiting contests in the coming years-not to mention the ones that will occur in Cameron Indoor and the Dean Dome.
Taking his first break from the rigors of getting settled in his new role, Williams is an assistant coach under former North Carolina assistant and current Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown on the USA Basketball team. The squad includes Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and former Duke standout Elton Brand, and is currently competing in Puerto Rico to qualify for next summer's Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Williams, who is enjoying the opportunity to coach some of the game's premier players, has taken an active role during practice, helping the players learn the system and plays that closely resemble the North Carolina style of offense.
"This is a great thrill for me," Williams said. "This has been a dream for me for a long long time to be involved in an Olympic team, so I am thrilled as I can be."
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