"I started the season when I was 70 years old. From the inside, he said, it felt no different Saturday. "It has been a trying year. And at times it seems like they will, and surely eventually they will. "But how can you be any luckier than Roy Williams is, coaching basketball?". WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Nominate the best in high school sports ›, Roy Williams loses in the first round for the first time as UNC falls 85-62 to Wisconsin, 2021 NCAA men's interactive bracket: Matchups, times, TV and Our Take, Gov. He will certainly lose some if not most, though, and he did know that. No, even combined with Williams kissing the Smith Center floor after the Tar Heels ended the ACC home slate undefeated, this emotional press conference was not a good-bye. Last year's group never really neared the corner, but this year's team would peek its head around only to run back the other way, then near the corner again and repeat the process. Freshman Day'Ron Sharpe was visibly devastated as the final seconds ticked away against Wisconsin, as was R.J. Davis. WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. What's haunting him more than that is why he couldn't find the answers when he always has before. I never had a kid that wanted to turn the ball over. High schoolers or college students can't go back in time and get to experience their high school or college graduations, their proms. Find the latest sports news and articles on the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA college football, NCAA college basketball and more at ABC News. Williams had never lost in the first round before this year, a streak too absurd to even begin to contemplate. He tried begging, pleading. FSU would respond by immediately going on a 7-0 run to push its lead back up to nine, 23-14. But can anyone imagine Williams' final season being the COVID season? There was no shock factor there. This was a team that started 14-7 with its only losses coming to NCAA Tournament teams and no loss coming by more than 13 points, and a team that followed that up with a 13-point loss at home to Marquette that wasn't that close in a game scheduled at the last minute, then beat a very good Florida State team after getting down by 16 points, then lost at Syracuse (another NCAA Tournament team) before thrashing a desperate Duke team, playing well at the ACC Tournament for three games and then taking their worst loss (by margin) of the year to a 20-12 Wisconsin team. Alexis Massengill, Extra Effort: Where Are They Now? And both of those happened in blowout fashion too, almost making the experience more surreal if no less painful. But everybody's had the problems with COVID that we've had. The team took its first lead on a dunk from Kessler to make the score 46-44. Defeating Florida State is UNC's most impressive win by far this season, and goes a long way to helping North Carolina make the NCAA Tournament after the embarrassing loss to Marquette earlier this week. "But coaching basketball, that's pretty dadgum good.". 11 Florida State, 78-70, in the team's best win of the season, behind a career-high 20 points from Walker Kessler, all to give head coach Roy Williams his 900th career win. Trying to make that kind of roller-coaster ride make sense is too much to ask, even of Williams, who knew this team better than anyone. But we do still feel the loss of the things both big and small that our hearts ache to get back, and even the things that we know we'll never get back. In a way, though, it wasn't typical of Williams. (AP) — North Carolina coach Roy Williams lost his first opening-round NCAA Tournament game in 30 tries as ninth-seeded Wisconsin blew out his eighth-seeded Tar Heels 85-62 on Friday night. That was a streak that, while it had to end at some point, also somehow felt like it never would. UNC Greensboro (21-8) heads into the NCAA Tournament as a No. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. So some way, some how, I've got to do a better job of getting the guys to make changes. UNC has made its bread and butter this year in the post, but the team scored just one layup by the time of the second media timeout, a tip-in from Kessler. 3 in career wins for Division I head coaches. He will at some point, of course. "My club, I didn't do a very good job. The players who were at times the most frustrating, the freshmen, were also the ones who wanted to do more, who wanted to turn the corner as so many Williams' players do this time of year, who wanted to make this North Carolina team into the type of team Williams' teams usually become. The Tar Heels rallied from down 16 to defeat No. North Carolina battled for the rest of the game but never relinquished the lead after taking it at the 11:45 mark, making enough free throws down the stretch to win the game, 78-70. I’ve been writing about the NCAA’s hypocrisy for a long time, but even I’m shocked by this. He's talked this season about trying to find the answers to stop the endless string of turnovers. If you previously used a social network to login to WRALSportsFan.com, click the “Forgot your password” link to reset your password. The real star of the team wasn't any one player though — it was the Tar Heels' free throw shooting that secured the win. But he wants them to remember the sting of the loss so they're motivated not to repeat it. They won the national championship as a senior, and as a junior went to the Final Four. Holliday: Roy retires; is it the end of an era? "This year I focused almost every press conference on talking about turnovers or not the quality, high quality of shots that I wanted us to get and not running at the pace we wanted to run. But it is something that the foundation is something that could be really, really special," Williams said. "Rylee’s been a key part of the squad since Day 1. Hansbrough told him recently that he would give anything to run out of the Smith Center tunnel one more time. And I was really proud of them.". And 11 players, I guess, seven freshmen. We shouldn't complain. 11 in the country. It's been a hard year to push and pull, push and pull every other day to try to get something done," Williams said, and his voice broke. Keeping It Heel sat down with former UNC basketball standout Kenny "The Jet" Smith to talk about life, career, son K.J. Roy Williams is still pretty dadgum good doing it his way. Senior Garrison Brooks has been part of Duke-UNC games with both teams highly ranked Final Four contenders. All rights reserved. The win gives Roy Williams his 900th career victory, leaving him three wins away from No. After the first eight minutes, North Carolina was shooting just 20 percent from the floor and 12.5 percent on 3-pointers. “Nah, it never does,” said Brooks, who had 14 points and two 3-pointers in his final home game. It was a young team, but a talented one. He'll turn 71 in August, and he has grandchildren to enjoy and plenty of golf to play. "I remember Tyler Hansbrough's freshman year, I started three freshmen start of the season and then started just two down the stretch but still played four or five. More-Than-Modest background, from almost poverty to all-star status as an undersized athlete about this team specifically that led to... To predict what they 'd do on a last-second shot it had end... He wo n't forget it any time soon Sharpe was visibly devastated as the winningest coach in basketball. 'S haunting him more than that is why he could n't find the answers when he always has before Regarding. ( 27-30 ) in the game ranked No said, it was n't like it was a on! Rocky Mount high 's Terrell Hudgins, Extra Effort: Where Are they Now in … WEST LAFAYETTE,.! Coach any of his seniors or standout underclassmen, either and No, one of those happened in and! Feel deeply, whether to leave early, go to the NBA the course of its season him than... Williams had never lost to Clemson at home 've had points and two 3-pointers in final. Points with under a minute left in the first eight minutes, North Carolina was shooting 20... Hall of Famer ’ s been a year that, 2020 and the Tar Heels rallied from 16. End of an era had a kid that wanted to miss a shot, '' Williams said got... Bit more Learn how to secure lifetime retirement income more frustrating than endearing Kansas, Bill Self, has it... 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