GoHeels Exclusive: Moving Forward Through Unncharted Waters

By Pat James, GoHeels.com

In an ideal world, Roy Williams would've been in Charlotte on Tuesday, watching the North Carolina baseball team play South Carolina. Or perhaps he would've been at Anderson Stadium for the softball team's game against UNCG.

But instead, on a beautiful spring day in Chapel Hill, the Hall of Fame head coach found himself a few hundred miles away, secluded with his wife, Wanda, at their mountain home.

That's where Williams has spent much of his time since the Tar Heels' season ended on March 11 and the NCAA canceled all its remaining winter and spring championships the following day. The coronavirus has only continued to upend every facet of life in the United States since then. One thing Williams finds himself especially missing, though, is watching UNC's spring sports.

"I hate this, boy, I'm telling you," said Williams during a videoconference with media on Tuesday. "I love the spring always more when we had a successful basketball season. There's no question about that. Not being able to go to the baseball games or watch our women's tennis, or men's and women's lacrosse, I mean go down the line. I've always loved that. Sitting in Boshamer (Stadium) watching a baseball game is one of my favorite past times."

Williams, however, fully understands why he has to temporarily give that up.

With his players scattered across the country, Williams has stayed in touch with them via Zoom. Each of the last three Sundays, he said he's returned to Chapel Hill for full-team sessions, during which he's asked them not only about their health, but their academics and personal lives.

"I asked them three questions at the end of it this Sunday night," Williams said. "I said, 'How's your family, first? Secondly, are you being smart and staying away from people? Thirdly, just a very simple question: give me something positive that you've done this week with your family, with your academics or anything.'"

Williams said his players and their families are doing well, as none have been infected with the virus. As for him, he's primarily stayed home and watched CNN.

And while he can't watch Carolina spring sports, he has been able to enjoy one passion.

"The last three weeks, I've played golf in March and April for the first time in my life," Williams said. "I don't know how to experience that."

That's just one of many unknowns.

Supporting his heroes
During his quarantine, Williams said he's estimated he's filmed five or six public-service announcements encouraging people to social distance and wash their hands to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In his opinion, that's the least he can do.

"I'm willing to do those things because as I was growing up, and even up until the last several months, all of my heroes, or my biggest heroes, were my teachers that I'd had all the way through high school and college and mentors that I've had," he said. "But now my heroes are all the health care people and providers.

"I just can't imagine those doctors and nurses going to work every day and worrying about their own health and how it's going to affect their families, and yet they still keep going. So, they're definitely my heroes right now."

Unchartered waters
On March 13, the Division I council coordination committee instituted a dead period for in-person recruiting through at least April 15 and advised schools to suspend any official and unofficial on-campus visits to campus from prospective student-athletes. Then, on April 1, the NCAA extended the recruiting dead period through May 31.

Known for his penchant to not offer a scholarship to a prospect without an in-person evaluation, Williams said he thinks the June evaluation period will also be canceled.

"I don't have any idea," he said. "I really don't. I've been talking to NBA people, I've talked to other college coaches. The general consensus is what it should be: that nobody has any idea what is going to happen. I think to me, I think June is out of the question, also. So I'm just hoping for the July period."

As for now, he and his staff are adjusting.

"Just trying to do as much as you can on the phone," Williams said. "Getting more tapes probably than we've ever asked for just to see other people. But basically just staying on the phone. Needless to say, we'd already done a little work, average probably, with this year's junior class in high school. But that's the biggest focus right now. I guess what I'm hoping for is to get the July period so you can see people in person. But I don't have any idea if that's going to come. And if it doesn't, that means it's not the safest thing. So just have to put up with it.

"Our guys on my staff who are good with social media, I'm sure they're doing some things. Since I don't get there, I don't have any idea what they're doing. But I'm very confident that they're doing some great things."

Rehabbing from afar
Eleven of UNC's scholarship players combined to miss 104 games due to injury and illness during the 2019-20 season, by far the most in Williams' tenure (previous was 64 in 2008-09). The two who missed the most were Sterling Manley (33) and Anthony Harris (28), who are both recovering from their respective injuries.

After missing 16 games in 2018-19 due to soreness in his left knee, Manley underwent surgery on Dec. 12 to repair cartilage in the same knee. Harris missed the first eight games of the season due to a left knee injury he suffered in high school before playing in five straight games. In the fifth, he tore the ACL in his right knee, which prompted him to undergo surgery on Jan. 6.

Normally, they, along with the others players dealing with injuries, would be rehabbing with strength and conditioning coordinator Jonas Sahratian and head athletic trainer Doug Halverson right now. But with the majority of Carolina's buildings closed, they're rehabbing at home.

"Jonas, our strength and conditioning coach, has given everybody an individual workout with whatever materials they may have," Williams said. "If they've got a ball or a band or nothing, just working on body weight, Jonas has given a workout routine to every one of our players. And Doug, our trainer, is in constant contact.

"I'll use the example of Anthony (Harris); it'd be more scary if this had happened immediately after Anthony's injury. But he's done a great job with his rehab and has really gotten off to a great start with that. So, Doug is visiting with him daily, also, and still talking about what he needs to be doing. There's no way in the world it's as good as it would be if they were in the Smith Center, in the trainer's room or in the weight room. But I think Anthony has really started out with such a great job; he's already seen the fruits of his hard work, and I think he'll continue that, as well.

"Sterling, I think Doug even told me this morning that he had talked to Sterling and Sterling was doing well, also."

Moving forward
Given how fast everything happened after Carolina lost to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Williams said he didn't talk with his players about their 14-19 campaign before they left Chapel Hill. He has had some discussions with his staff, though.

"I did the worst job I've ever done of getting guys to play close to their potential," Williams said. "I didn't get enough of the guys to do that. Some of those guys didn't play very well. We had injuries that really kept us in a flux the whole time. The worst practice scenario we've ever had about guys being in and out, in and out.

"So, it was a lot of factors, and I don't think there's one simple answer other than the fact we just got our tails beat. We've just got to put it behind us and learn from those mistakes and not do the same things again."

Looking for improvements
With Brandon Robinson lost to graduation and Cole Anthony projected as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, the Tar Heels are expected to return three starters in 2020-21 – Armando Bacot, Leaky Black and Garrison Brooks.

Williams explained how he wants to see those three improve.

"I think Armando's the one who's got to take giant leaps," Williams said. "He's got to be able to be more efficient finishing around the basket, be able to do more defensively without getting silly fouls. Understanding all the little things that we talk about the entire season, like setting legal screens, has got to be important to him. He is a wonderful kid and he is coachable, but he's got to raise that level … He's got to accept that and take the little things and realize how important they are. And I think he will because, like I said, he's just a wonderful, wonderful kid. He's got to push himself a little harder, but the biggest thing is being able to finish around the basket. When you get the ball in that area, you've got to be able to make the play.

"Leaky, stay healthy. We want him to be able to play multiple positions because I think that's so important to him. But if there's one thing and it's no question it's not a surprise to anybody, he's gotta be able to make outside shots and also use his athleticism more than he does. And I think that he could be the best (perimeter) defender in all of college basketball if he would slide his feet better and use his athleticism.

"And then, Garrison, continue to build on what he's done, work more on his shot, particularly the outside shot coming down and trailing in the secondary break, whether it's a 3-pointer or at the free-throw line or anywhere in between. And also be able to slide his feet better to guard somebody out on the court because I think that and his shot are going to be what he's going to need more in his future."

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Cole Anthony

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

Garrison Brooks

Anthony Harris

Sterling Manley

Brandon Robinson

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