Roy Williams has led the North Carolina basketball program to great success, but the author argues the program is now trending in the wrong direction. Over the past four seasons, UNC has struggled against rivals like Duke, experienced numerous early tournament exits, and failed to recruit many top in-state players. While Williams was once beloved, his coaching style now seems outdated and unable to motivate the players or adapt to a changing game. It is time, the author says, for UNC to move in a new direction without Williams in order to return to the program's tradition of excellence.

1. The Downward Spiral of Carolina Hoops
As the confetti dropped from the rafters of Ford Field in Detroit in 2009 as
North Carolina defeated Michigan State in a largely anti-climactic championship
game, few Tar Heels could ever envision four seasons later being so frustrated with
the coach (and team) they love.
The time is now for Carolina to move in a different direction and get back to
the university’s winning ways. Under the guidance of Roy Williams, our team is
losing national respect and the best chance of winning. Roy’s style is antiquated.
His style is predictable. Basketball has evolved, but Roy has not.
Roy irked fans at the 2008 Final Four by donning a Kansas Jayhawk sticker
after suffering a crushing defeat by his former employer in the national semifinal.
Even through his lack of effective use of time outs and seeming inability to motivate
players, fans stood by Roy and were rewarded with a second national championship
in half a decade. This time the patience is waning.
Ironically, last month’s tournament victory over Villanova gave Roy iconic
win number 700 in his headcoaching career. A milestone celebrated on a Friday
night only to be halted by reality two days later. The harsh reality is the Carolina
basketball program is trending in the wrong direction.
Almost a quarter of Roy’s total losses as a collegiate head coach have
occurred in the last four seasons. Since cutting down the nets in 2009, Roy’s record
against Tobacco Road rival Duke is a meager 2-7 (9-12 overall). I recently asked a
friend and fellow Carolina Alum what chances he gave the Heels in their second
meeting verse the Blue Devils this season. His response was, “I have a lot of faith in
Roy’s boys, but no faith in Roy.”
This seems to be the sentiment growing withina basketball community
expecting to win. Carolina has had winless droughts versus the Blue Devils in the
past, but the overall record of 106-42, opposed to the Devils’ record of 124-23,
raises questions about the consistency of a program envied for being consistent.
Maybe this lack of consistency is attributed to Roy’s play through the adversity
(without using a time out) coaching style he acquired from Dean Smith? This style
only works when you have matured and experienced upperclassmen.
In years past, Carolina graduated seniors. We don’t do that anymore. Senior
nights in the Dean Dome are now seemingly reserved for celebrating the walk-ons.
Top recruits at Carolina do not graduate anymore. The allure of sitting on the end of
the Phoenix Suns’ bench is apparently more appealing than lacing up for “Ole Roy”
at North Carolina’s flagship university. Has Carolina’s recruiting philosophy
changed? Is it an issue of loyalty? Iowais not top of the list in places where young
hoopsters grow up dreaming to play four years for the Tar Heels.
Surprisingly, eight of sixteen players on Carolina’s roster are listed from
North Carolina. You would never know it because once you take away Reggie
Bullock and PJ Hairston’s 31.4 and 23.6 minutes per game during the 2012-2013
season, the remaining six North Carolinians on the roster average collectively only
2.85 minutes per game.These North Carolinians -players likely to stay in school
longer than players from outside the state - play a minor role in Carolina’s successes
and failures.

2. Over the last four recruiting seasons, twenty-six players in the state of North
Carolina have been ranked in the top 100 on Scout.com. There has been no shortage
of good high school basketball played in our State, just a lack of recruiting. Of the
twenty-six players out ofNorth Carolina, only three players decided to commit to
playing basketball for THE University of North Carolina. A school that boasts not
only the most trips to the Final Four, but five national championships and a top ten
ranked public university education.
Unranked seasons and Round of 32 exits are not the Carolina way. These
seasons aren’t what make students line up hours before tipoff outside the Smith
Center. It’s Lennie Rosenbluth upsetting Kansas in the 1957 championship game
and Tyler Hansbrough burying a three-pointer to ruin senior night for J.J. Reddick.
It’s gazing down on Franklin Street from Top of the Hill after a huge victory.
Basketball is the heartbeat.
The oldest public university needs to get back to the grassroots recruiting
that brought players like Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Bob McAdoo. Roy is a
North Carolina native who does not put that comfort and distinction to use.
Believing in the name is not enough if the name is trending down. It is time for a
new direction at Carolina. The path back to the Final Four is without Coach Roy
Williams.
S. Addison Dalton is a third year law student at Charlotte School of Law and a 2009
graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass
Communication.