Roy Williams picked up his 800th career coaching win as North Carolina topped Syracuse and received quite the gift for his achievement
When you have head coaching stops with the North Carolina Tar Heels after a tenure with the Kansas Jayhawks, you’re going to win a lot of college basketball games. That’s exactly the road that Roy Williams has taken through his career on the sidelines. Subsequently, his Tar Heels welcomed the Syracuse Orange to Chapel Hill on Monday night and Williams had a chance at reaching an impressive milestone.
If North Carolina could top the Orange, it would be the 800th victory in the head coach’s career. Sure enough, behind a strong effort from Isaiah Hicks and Justin Jackson, the Tar Heels rolled over Syracuse to earn Williams No. 800. And of course there were plenty of festivities in the Dean Dome after the victory to help Ol’ Roy celebrate.
For one, the Tar Heels made Williams a custom jersey with the No. 800 emblazoned on the front. However, perhaps the most special gift came from North Carolina basketball’s highest regarded product: Michael Jordan. To commemorate the occasion for Williams, Jordan sent the head coach a custom pair of shoes signed by the greatest of all-time himself:
Roy Williams was given custom shoes signed by Michael Jordan in honor of his 800th career win. https://t.co/IRbHuGKo71
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 17, 2017
Often reserved and measured when he speaks, you could see that even Williams was a bit moved by all of it—in addition to of course being overjoyed by it. Moments like these are rare for coaches and it’s always a pleasure to see them let their guard down, as well as to see gifts like the custom Jordans.
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800 wins certainly won’t be where the train stops rolling for Williams. He could be in the teens by the end of the season as he has another potential title-contender on his hands this season. However, for him to reach that mark on Monday night left fans with a special moment to remember.