Ep 2: The End

How do you know when it’s over? There are signs, but they aren’t always easy to decipher. Coaches, even the best, get pushed out all the time before they actually want to go. North Carolina head basketball coach Dean Smith was able to leave on his terms, and later admitted he probably had a few more years left in him. The decision for Roy Williams to leave the Tar Heels wasn’t easy, and actually considered shutting it down after the 2019-2020 season and was eventually talked out of it. Williams’ wife, Wanda, tried to convince him to retire after the 2009 NCAA Championship. But all great coaches think they still have one more left in them, and getting North Carolina back to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 was enough for Williams to read the signs and call it a career.

Roy Williams was quick with names and good with the whistle. If he wasn’t, who knows if he ever would have caught Dean Smith’s attention. The sequel to Smith’s dynasty at North Carolina — the five trips to the Final Four and the three national titles with the Tar Heels — never would have happened. Roy Williams ended his hall-of-fame career on April 1, 2021. The story of how he made it to the top with two of the blue blood programs in college basketball, UNC and Kansas, has been told but not like this and not with this type of honesty and insight from That Dadgum Legend himself. ROY is produced by 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh, North Carolina and hosted by Joe Ovies and Joe Giglio.