UNC Basketball: 12 candidates to succeed Roy Williams as head coach

Steve Robinson

Earlier, we talked briefly about the hiring of Bill Guthridge back in 1997. At the time, it was very sensible to turn the program over to Dean Smith’s top assistant, especially since Williams was busy with Kansas at the time. We’ve already considered Hubert Davis as that potential comparison, but Robinson fits the mold just as well.

Robinson played his college ball at Radford and coached there briefly before joining Williams’ bench at Kansas. He spent time as the head coach at Tulsa and Florida State, winning an NCAA Tournament game at both schools. He rejoined Williams’ staff after his firing in 2002 and has remained an assistant at North Carolina for the last 18 years.

Robinson has experience running a program, has been around the game for a long time, has great familiarity with this North Carolina team, and previously helmed an ACC program. Obviously, he wasn’t very successful leading Florida State and there’s no guarantee he would be the right name to lead the Tar Heels for the future. Additionally, at 63, he’s not exactly a long-term hire, though Guthridge clearly wasn’t either some 24 years ago.