CHAPEL HILL — Becoming the fourth Division I college basketball coach to reach 900 career victories brought out some classic aw-shucks bits from Roy Williams.
Including the following zinger, delivered minutes after North Carolina’s defeat of Florida State on Saturday allowed him to achieve the milestone.
“If I had dropped dead walking out before the game, I would’ve still had 899,” he said. “That’s not that far from 900, so it’s OK.”
It was the sort of trademark perspective from Williams that has registered as uniquely his own through the years, while he considered his place among a most exclusive group, when asked the day prior to the game against Florida State, and then again Saturday with win No. 900 secured at the Smith Center.
Williams joined fellow Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Bob Knight in the coaching club with 900 victories in Division I. The Tar Heels meet Syracuse in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Monday night, a short turnaround from the weekend that brings Williams and Boeheim together again.
The 70-year-old Williams has compiled a career record of 900-261 across 33 seasons as a head coach. He needed fewer games (1,161) and seasons than any of the others to collect 900 wins. For the sake of comparison, Duke’s Krzyzewski won his 900th in his 36th season and 1,183rd game.
Williams is three shy of surpassing Knight (902 wins) for the third-most victories by a Division I coach. Krzyzewski (1,168 wins) and Boeheim (977 wins) are positioned ahead.
Not that these latest stops on the climb further into rarified air have put Williams in a particularly reflective mood. On Friday, as he sized up the challenges presented by league-leading Florida State, he said, “I’m 99.99999 percent focused on trying to get 15,” meaning North Carolina’s 15th victory of the season.
“The only reason I left out that one-thousandth of percentage point, I guess, is because you dad-gum guys keep asking me about it,” he said. “I’m in the moment. Maybe, but I’m going to say it’s a big maybe, down the road I’ll look at some number and say, ‘Yeah, that was pretty cool.’ ”
After 418 victories in his 15 seasons at Kansas, Williams has hit big round numbers in the form of career wins 500, 600, 700, 800 and now 900 in Chapel Hill at North Carolina, his alma mater, while claiming three NCAA championships along the way.
He said victory No. 879 has been the most impactful and emotional. That was accomplished against Yale in December 2019 of last season, and moved Williams into a fourth-place tie on the Division I wins list with his mentor Dean Smith.
“That was meaningful to me,” Williams said. “I could’ve walked off the court that night and never coached another game, and I wouldn’t have worried about having one more than Coach Smith. That’s just not me.”
In the building named for Smith, in the middle of the court that bears Williams’ name, the Tar Heels presented Williams with a framed jersey commemorating his 900th win, a moment of recognition and celebration Saturday after the 78-70 defeat of nationally ranked Florida State was completed.
Williams lifted the encased jersey above his head to show it off, before veteran players Garrison Brooks and Leaky Black took over that duty, raising the frame higher on display as Williams waved to those saluting him in the reduced crowd of 3,263 spectators.
“It was nice,” he said, in predictable downplaying manner, “but I wanted to get them into the locker room so we could act like a fool. I really didn’t want to do anything, but it was nice.”
MOST DIVISION I COACHING VICTORIES
1168 — Mike Krzyzewski (Army, Duke)
977 — Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
902 — Bob Knight (Army, Indiana, Texas Tech)
900 — Roy Williams (Kansas, North Carolina)
879 — Dean Smith (North Carolina)
TIP-OFF
Who: North Carolina (15-8, 9-5) at Syracuse (13-8, 7-7)
When: 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN)
Where: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Series: North Carolina leads 14-5, after winning 81-75 in January in the first matchup of the season between these teams. The Tar Heels are 10-2 against Syracuse since the Orange joined the ACC, and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings.
Adam Smith is a sports reporter for the Burlington Times-News and USA TODAY Network. You can reach him by email at asmith@thetimesnews.com or @adam_smithTN on Twitter.
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This article originally appeared on Times-News: UNC coach Roy Williams reflects on reaching 900 victories in classic aw-shucks form
