Joel Berry II, 'People Have the Wrong Opinions About Coach'
Joel Berry II was part of a class that held Coach Williams together during his toughest years at North Carolina. During that time, they developed a close bond, and Berry was known as an extension of Williams - more in-depth than the coveted point guard position he held.
During his interview on 'The Player and The Fan,' David Noel III asked Berry a tough question regarding Carolina's tough season and how he (Berry) handled being the class that held UNC together.
Berry's answer reflects his four years of growth at Carolina and also knowing his coach. Williams has never shied away from working his talent to their potential, pushing them to the professional arena they desire and choosing experience over star quality. Berry brings up these factors, highlighting that some kids these days don't want to work for it, but if you're coming to Carolina, working hard is the leading qualifier.
David Noel III:
The class of 'one and done,' and now all of that is gone. So now I was telling them you see the effects of the academic scandal, even though you guys were able to kind of hold us in a row for so long. This year we saw the effects of that. Can you speak to what you thought when you watched Carolina play this year?
Joel Berry II:
Yeah, I think the academic standard is a little part of it, but if you want my honest opinion, I think basketball is getting to a point where you have all these recruits. They want to go places where they're not challenged, where they feel like they can just go in and just do whatever they want to do. When the story about Nasir (Little) and Coach Williams getting into it about him not getting a lot of playing time, I think everybody looked at Carolina like, 'Okay, if you're a top player and you go into this program, It's, basically, you're not going to be able to go in there and just do whatever you want to do.'
As you know, Coach Williams doesn't have favorites, and when you go in, it doesn't matter if you're a five-star or one-star recruit everybody's on the same playing level, and you have to fight for what you want.
I think that it kind of hurt Carolina, the fact that that came out, and people looked at it as Coach Williams, you know ... Also, he wants people to stay for four years. I think everybody has all these different kinds of opinions are just wrong about Coach Williams, and I think it's affecting the program a lot. I think one of them has to be that people just don't want to compete anymore. They want to go to these schools to where they don't have to fight for a spot, and it's just given to them.
If you would like to hear more of Berry's interview, you can watch it here or listen to it on the go,
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