Roy Williams Names Top 10 players
With immense talent coming through Chapel Hill, it has to be hard to choose top players that exhibit extraordinary ability on a nightly basis. In 17 years, Roy Williams has coached top five picks and historical Heels, but when you remove the accolades, who stands out to the hall of fame coach?
In an interview with Andy Katz, Williams had to choose his best athlete according to 10 categorial attributes. Williams seemed to name players with confidence and intact memory on why these players were standouts.
Check out his choices below!
Athletic Wonder, Ty lawson: "Athletic wonder and freak athlete. Such tremendous feet, anticipation and athleticism. 8 steals in that game, his speed and athleticism. Lateral and hand quickness."
The Captain, David Noel III: "I get a lot of credit as a coach of that group, and every time I get the chance I tell David, 'thank you,' because it was him that was such a great leader on and off the court. He was so positive and that guy was the best leader I've ever been around."
The Coach, Sean May: "He could have played all five spots. He knew everybody's assignment. He's one of the five smartest basketball players I've ever coached. He was that guy who knew how to play and you could depend in late games."
Glue-Guy, Marvin Williams: "He was just a great teammate and positive influence on everybody. He could do so many things on the court but was so special off the court, so special in the locker room. He was just that guy that made everybody better."
Bucket Getter, Tyler Hansbrough: "You got the ball to Tyler he was going to make the shot 60% of the time or he was going to get fouled and make the free throw at 80%. It was a pretty comfortable feeling to know that we had him that we could throw the ball into him at any time."
Clutch Gene, Marcus Paige: "He made three game winners. I've even told Michael Jordan, I think Marcus' shot would have erased Michael's as the most famous shot in North Carolina basketball history. It was the most difficult three-point shot I've ever seen."
Dirty Worker, John Henson: "John could even block the shot of the guy he was guarding, and that was really really hard to do. He was the defensive player for two years. He's the only guy I told he could block the shot of the guy he's guarding."
Lockdown defender, Jackie Manuel: "Jackie Manuel could chase a guy around screens, could stay in front of the ball, was just a guy you could depend on to make it difficult for the other team. He took everybody's best player. Good at staying in front of the ball. He was good at getting it done."
The Shooter, Wayne Ellington: "He stepped up at the biggest time there is. The prettiest jumpsuit? Would be Wayne Ellington."
The Quarterback, Kendall Marshall: "He was definitely a pass-first point guard with just tremendous savvy and got the ball to the best shooters, had good players around him and he made them look really good."
Do you agree with Williams' list? If not, who would you change?
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