Updated 9:32 p.m.
CHAPEL HILL — This was the kind of response, overall, North Carolina coach Roy Williams wanted to see following a disheartening loss at Indiana earlier in the week. Even so, amid all the good things the Tar Heels did in their 102-84 victory against UAB on Saturday, there were still some moments that drove Williams wild with anger.
One of those moments came during a timeout with 13:16 remaining, and UNC leading 59-52. Williams had just witnessed a pair of defensive breakdowns. He ripped off his grey jacket. His players gathered around him while he screamed, and then Williams slammed a clipboard into the court, and a marker that had been attached to it went soaring into the air.
“If I say pick up the other team’s point guard at the 10-second line, that’s what I mean,” Williams said when asked what had made him so upset. He then pointed to a nearby cup sitting on a table. “It’s an easy deal. If I tell my 3-year-old grandson to pick that cup up, my guess is he’ll probably pick it up. And that’s all the [heck] it is, just do what I tell you to do.
