“As a coach, I’ve got to coach today, not wait until next season,” Williams said. “Who knows what happens tomorrow?”
Williams will get his chance to coach today when the Tar Heels (16-16) take on William & Mary in Carmichael Auditorium at 9:30 p.m. It will be UNC’s first game in Carmichael since moving to the Smith Center in 1986.
William & Mary (22-10) is coached by High Point native Tony Shaver, who played for Carolina from 1972-75.
UNC dropped out of contention for an NCAA berth by losing 12 of its last 17 games.
“We turned the ball over way too much and we didn’t make shots,” Williams said.
Many of the mistakes the Tar Heels made late in the season were the same as those they made at the start of the season.
“I just didn’t do as good of a job as I need to do,” Williams said. “I couldn’t get the right buttons pushed. I didn’t know what those buttons were. It’s the most inadequate that I’ve ever felt as a coach.”
Williams’ previous worst season, including his years at Kansas, was 19-12. This is the first time in 21 seasons that one of his teams failed to qualify for the NCAA when it was eligible.
“It’s very frustrating,” Williams said. “I’ve got wonderful kids. It’s the kind of year I thought I’d never imagine. I hope I never have to go through another like this.”
Since losing to Georgia Tech, Williams said he went to see three of his recruits for next season play.
“I’ve been miserable,” Williams said. “I’ve been like a spoiled brat and taken my ball and gone home. I don’t think I watched a (college) game. I haven’t been a good fan.”
Williams did say that injuries have played a factor in the inconsistent play.
“Of our top eight or nine guys, we’ve missed (the equivalent) of 37 games,” Williams said. “It’s been a bigger factor than I thought it should be. But we didn’t play the way we should have.”
The Tribe won at Maryland and at Wake Forest this season. They like to take 3-point shots. Out of their 1,670 field-goal attempts, 798 have been from behind the arc.
Their top scorer, David Schneider (15.3 points), has taken two-thirds of his attempts from 3-point range. Their other double-figure scorers, Quinn McDowell and Danny Sumner, have taken about half their shots from 3-point land.
“It’s my understanding they pretty much put five guys on the perimeter,” Williams said. “They don’t have much of an inside game.”
Williams said he hopes that playing in the NIT will give the Tar Heels something positive to build upon as they look toward next year.
“I told them the story that South Carolina beat us for the ACC championship in 1971, so we didn’t go to the NCAA Tournament that year,” Williams said. “A bunch of students met us when we got back to campus and Steve Previs got off the bus and told them that we were going to win the NIT, and we did. The next year, Bob McAdoo came in and we went to the Final Four.”
Until this season is over, Williams isn’t thinking about the future.
“Right now, I’m coaching to win one game in the NIT,” he said. “And if we win that one, then I’m coaching to win the next one.”
gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519
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