Roy Williams Has One Wish: To See His 5-Star Recruits Be Great Before He Dies

roy williams 5 star recruits before he dies

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Roy Williams has always been candid with the media, he’s someone that always speaks his mind, but his latest rant about some of his players following North Carolina’s 67-65 win over Miami was a bit extra, even for his standards.

During his postgame press conference, Williams was asked about Leaky Black’s big-time performance against the Hurricanes and why he stuck with him at the point guard position down the stretch. At first, he kept it pretty simple saying that freshmen RJ Davis and Caleb Love (both top recruits this year) were a combined 2-for-14 at one point, but he didn’t stop there.

Williams went on to compliment Davis and Love, if you want to call it that, by saying that they’ll both be good players, he just hopes they decide to do so before he dies. You know, a totally normal thing to say.

“And at one point, I started to go with him at the point guard spot because Caleb and R.J. – looking at them now – they’re 2-for-14. Those guys are going to be really good basketball players. They’ve got to decide to do it before I die,” Williams said according to 247 Sports. “Hopefully this year, but they’re going to be really good basketball players and they’ve just got to start making better decisions with their turnovers and at the same time, make some more shots.”

That’s one way to motivate a couple of teenagers. ‘Hey, you guys need to figure your shit out, I’m 70-years-old, I don’t know how much longer I’ve got here.’

This isn’t the first time Williams has mentioned wanting to see his team be great again before he dies. Back in January, Williams talked to Forbes about the recruiting process and referenced death.

I just hope I live long enough to enjoy that,” he said. “Two things, one thing it’s gut-wrenching about what kind of season you’re going through but college coaching, the game and the practices is such a little part of it. There’s other things you have to do, whether it’s speaking to your alums or recruiting or whatever. So this is a huge part of the job anyway.

“Everybody says, ‘Well, you got help coming.” I jokingly I hope say that I’m going to live long enough to get there.”

UNC is trending in the right direction with back-to-back wins and definitely looks like an improved team compared to last year’s 14-19 record. So, maybe Williams’ wish will come true and he’ll see his Tar Heels back in the spotlight before his final day comes.