UNC Basketball: 5 reasons why the Tar Heels are preseason contenders

UNC Basketball: 5 reasons why the Tar Heels are preseason title contenders

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 10: Luke Maye #32 and Kenny Williams #24 of the North Carolina Tar Heels react during their game against the Northern Iowa Panthers at the Dean Smith Center on November 10, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: Head coach Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels looks on. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Roy Williams is one of the best in the business

Coaching matters in college basketball. You might not always want to admit it but it’s true. It is very rare that a team either has a dominant season or makes a surprise run in the NCAA Tournament without a well-regarded head coach. And this is about more than just the recruiting facet of coaching. Good coaches are well-rounded basketball minds, with the ability to run a high-quality practice and make in-game adjustments and rotation switches in addition to recruiting high-level talents.

In head coach Roy Williams, UNC Basketball has one of the best. Coach Williams has been at the helm of the UNC basketball program since 2003 and he has done an excellent job. Over the course of his career with the program, the Tar Heels have had the following success:

Total record of 424-126 (.771)
8 ACC regular-season titles
3 ACC Tournament titles
Made the NCAA Tournament in 14 of 15 seasons
Average seed in the Big Dance of 2.7
9 trips to at least the Sweet 16
5 appearances in the Final Four
3 national championships

Let’s just say that he can definitely be trusted to win games as a basketball coach. Even with tons of talent, it is easy to lose games without a high-quality head coach. That is what makes Coach Williams one of the best in the country. With a strong roster for him to work with, it is reasonable to expect UNC basketball to be a top-10 team again.

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