Duke basketball reacts to Roy Williams retiring as UNC coach with classy message

The Duke basketball program shows its respect to former UNC coach Roy Williams.

It was a little bit unexpected, but the Duke basketball program was extremely classy in wishing former North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams the very best in his retirement.

Williams announced his retirement from coaching on April Fool’s Day. The 70-year-old long-time head coach had been leading his alma mater’s program since 2003. He won three national titles as a head coach in Chapel Hill, serving as Dean Smith’s top assistant for years before taking over the Kansas Jayhawks in 1988. Even if they are bitter rivals, the Duke Blue Devils did respect Ole Roy.

https://twitter.com/DukeMBB/status/1377632904113745920

Roy Williams was instrumental in re-legitimizing UNC hoops in the 2000s

North Carolina is a college basketball blue-blood if there ever was one. However, prior to Williams’ return to Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels had fallen on hard times in the mid-to-late 1990s. Duke ran roughshod over the ACC, while North Carolina was no longer an elite program after Smith retired. Leaving Kansas for UNC was a bold move for Williams, but one that absolutely panned out for him.

Williams won three national titles at North Carolina, made four trips to the Final Four, won nine ACC regular-season championships and three ACC Tournaments. To say Willams put UNC hoops back on the map would be a gross understatement. Upon his return to North Carolina, he helped bring out the very best in his players, as well as forcing rivals like Duke to step up their games.

Duke and North Carolina may be bitter rivals, but the respect they have for each other is real.

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