Above All, Roy Wins Title For Himself

The monkey is finally off his back. Roy Williams has his national championship. At long last, one of the preeminent basketball minds can be elevated to legendary status because his team has closed out the season by cutting down the nets, although my opinion of him remains unchanged.

Williams' coaching ability was evident the moment he stepped on the Lawrence campus. In just his second season, Kansas routed eventual champions UNLV 91-77 in the preseason NIT tournament. In Roy's third season, he took a Kansas team that was two years removed from probation to the championship game, eventually losing to Duke.

Williams went back to the final four two years later, then twice more in 21st century. Although Kansas suffered with a few underachieving teams during the Williams era (most notably the Paul Pierce years), for the most part, people wouldn't argue with Roy's success.

Roy doesn't just impress disciples from the Dean Smith cult. Aside from the usual accolades bestowed by the Carolina fraternal brothers, Williams also draws praise from those who are respected outside tobacco road. Jerry West, one of the games brightest NBA minds, puts it this way.

"If you watch his teams, you know they've been coached. If you go to his practices, you know why his teams are successful. His players play the right way. They're team-oriented. They play a fun way offensively. They're aggressive. He changes defenses. He does it all. He's just a wonderful coach."

This season, Williams had the most talented team in the country. Aside from polished veterans such as Rashad McCants, Sean May, and Raymond Felton, the Tar Heels had the luxury to bring freshman sensation and future lottery pick Marvin Williams off the bench.

But even though they led by as many as 15, with just over two minutes remaining, they were tied, and a Deron Williams three-pointer from trailing. Even though he had a good look, Deron missed.

The next possession was odd, because after dominating the entire game, Carolina opted to go away from Sean May and let Rashad McCants try to score. McCants threw up a terrible shot, but Marvin Williams was there to tip it in and basically save Roy's bacon.

Illinois then had several good looks to either tie the game or take the lead, but they missed on every single jumper and made one decisive turnover at the worst possible moment. The argument could be made that Illini coach Bruce Weber out-witted Williams, but his kids failed to make the shot.

North Carolina seemed to win this tournament on talent alone, much of which Williams did not recruit, but I don't feel that should be held against him. What I do believe is that a national championship is not the only factor that is indicative of coaching credibility.

Williams might have been smart enough to stay out of the way of this team and make sure they didn't waste the opportunity that was set before him. Steve Fisher did the same thing in 1989, and no one confuses him with Bob Knight.

Much like in the case of Dan Marino and Karl Malone, the majority of your success has to do with the team around you. Joe Torre was fired from three managerial jobs before receiving his deified status as Yankees skipper. It also helps he is the beneficiary of the highest payroll in the majors. Rick Majerus is also one of the best coaches in the game, but odds are he will never win a championship. Does that take away from his accomplishments?

Roy Williams said the right thing Monday night when he gushed, "I'm just so happy for myself, my family..." A championship is an individual honor, not something to be judged on by onlookers. Barry Bonds might never win a World Series, despite being the most dominating player ever in baseball. And I guarantee the only person he is trying to win for is himself, not for what other people might think of him.

I would like to congratulate Roy Williams on his title — no one deserves it more than him. After all the ridiculous scrutiny he has taken, it must be nice to finally not have to answer the questions any more. I thought he was a great coach before, and I still think he is a great coach. He didn't need to win a national title to satisfy his critics, he needed one to satisfy himself.