“Maybe it’s time for Roy to retire”
From his stubborn approach to in-game situations to his “let me compare my team’s situation to a catastrophic disaster” postgame comments, Roy Williams seems to always hit a stretch in the season where the craziest of UNC’s lunatic fringe starts calling for a change. A year ago, North Carolina lost 5 games over a 7 game stretch, plagued by an inability to successfully close out games when holding a lead. After losing another such contest in the Sweet 16 against eventual runner-up Wisconsin, “Fire Roy” was all the rage on social media.
What’s the most likely time for a UNC slip-up this year that could turn UNC fans against their coach yet again? The brutal home stretch, starting February 1st at Louisville and ending 10 games later in Durham against Duke seems like a good candidate. But this certainly has the feeling of a make-or-break year for Roy Williams with an exodus of talent looming, another epic class heading to Coach K at Duke in 2016 that will make fans feel uneasy, and the never-ending NCAA saga that we don’t think includes men’s basketball, but we don’t really know that it doesn’t. A national championship, or at the very least, a trip to the Final Four would heal a lot of wounds in Chapel Hill.
Signature game: Elite 8
For most programs, an Elite 8 appearance would be met with a parade, but this is North Carolina. After winning the championship in 2009, Williams followed a rebuilding season and took two extremely talented teams to the regional finals before losing both times. Then after two round of 32 exits and a Sweet 16 loss, the Heels are back as the pre-season favorite to cut down the nets in Houston in April. UNC is too talented to bow out in the Sweet 16 again, so the Elite 8 is the most likely time for UNC’s annual “Fire Roy” game.
