Lucas: Exclusive Q&A With Roy Williams

Editor's note: Roy Williams sat down for an exclusive Q&A with Adam Lucas for the GoHeels Magazine basketball preview issue, which ships to Rams Club members this week. The following are a few questions and answers that were left on the editing room floor from that conversation.

Adam Lucas: When you ask a player to either gain weight or lose weight, and they're able to do what you ask of them, what does that tell you about them?

Roy Williams: It tells me he's the kind of kid we thought we recruited. I want the kids who are self-motivated and self-disciplined. We can help a little bit with the discipline, but we can't make them put forth that extra effort. And that never really stops. Marcus (Paige), for example, he got stronger from his freshman to sophomore year so he could handle the pounding of the ACC. He's done that, and now he has to do that to another level.

AL: How do you explain to Brice (Johnson) the importance of not just being a productive player, but of being a productive player consistently?

RW: "If I knew the answer to how to make him more consistent, we wouldn't be asking that question. He's consistently gotten better and better, but he will still revert back to the old Brice if you're not careful. His level of intensity is what we have to see now. If we see it day in, day out, you can figure we'll probably see it in games, too. He has some tools, but he has to be able to do it consistently.”

AL: What steps does J.P. Tokoto need to take to make the improvements you've asked him to make?

RW: "If he would buy in to the highest degree of being the best offensive rebounder in the league and the best perimeter defensive player in the league, all the offense will come from those two things right there. He's coachable, there's no question. He just needs to do it at a higher level of consistency and not let bad plays linger."

“Dudley Bradley was the 13^th player taken in the NBA Draft and he averaged nine points a game his senior year and four points a game for his entire career. If J.P. would buy in completely, he would average more points than Dudley because he's a better defensive player. If he buys into some of the little things like Dudley did, we'll really have something.”

AL: Your three-point defense was very good statistically last year, but the two-point defense was not up to that of your usual teams. How can that be improved this year?

RW: "That was pretty easy to figure out. When you have shot blockers, the two-point percentage for your opponents is not as high. You better be able to guard the basket, but you always have to get out to the three-point line. We had smaller guys who could bother three-point shots last year. We still have to do that. But we have to protect the rim a lot better. Whether it's Kennedy, Brice, Desmond, Joel or Jackson, somebody has to protect the rim. Desmond is the best defender of all our post players, and the rest of them need to get up to his level defensively. If we do that, we will still push up on three-pointers. We will never be a team that doubles down on the low post because I don't believe in that."

AL: A couple players and coaches have compared last season's loss to Iowa State to the 2007 loss to Georgetown in the regional final. What did your team learn from that loss in 2007 that you hope this group learned from last year?

RW: The games were similar, because we took a couple of bad shots and had a couple of silly fouls. Against Georgetown, we took a couple of terrible shots.

In 2007, they saw how important every game was. You can't take anybody for granted, and you have to be ready to play on that day. It helped them the next year, because we were very methodical all season until we got to Kansas in the Final Four. This past year, the loss to Iowa State was very difficult for them to take. I hope they'll use it as fuel to be that motivating thing that will make them take the extra step. Because they learned in 2008, and then the 2009 team learned from the way we finished against Kansas in 2008. It does motivate you, there's no question about that.

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