KU
Kansan
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Features: Literature class treks to Twain's home in Hannibal, Mo.
SEE PAGE 1B
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2000
Inside: Jayhawk chic is Roy
Williams' coaching style.
SEE PAGE 9A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL. 110 NO. 152
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Roy's decision delights devotees
By David Perico
Special to the Kansan
After a week of unconfirmed rumors about Roy Williams' coaching plans, the University of Kansas community was ready for an answer Thursday night.
And Jayhawk fans got the answer they were hoping for.
At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the Athletics Department called a 9 p.m. press conference to announce whether Williams would take the coaching position at the University of North Carolina or stick with Kansas. The press conference was broadcast from the Kansas locker room at Memorial Stadium, and fans were invited to view the conference on the Mega Vision screen from the stands — something most seemed to consider a good sign.
An hour before the conference, carloads of Jayhawk basketball fans streamed onto campus, heading for Memorial Stadium. By 8:30 p.m., traffic on Mississippi Street started to look like it does on football game days.
Thousands of fans — old and young, toting pets and pushing babies in strollers — streamed into the
stadium from all
directions.
Fans grabbed free sodas from tubs of ice just inside the south gate.
"This is a good sign," one fan said.
The crowd filled about a third of the stadium's 50,250 seats, and the lights were on in several luxury boxes.
Jayhawk fans booed a man who walked down the track wearing a North Carolina T-shirt. Eight KU band members climbed the south end zone stands and played the KU fight song and alma mater. Fans sang along and then did the Rock Chalk chant.
When Williams appeared on the big screen and said, "I'm staying," the cheers became deafening. Vibrations from the crowd's roar could be felt in the locker room press conference.
Steven Buckley was sitting in the stands just about where he sat for the 1988 NCAA basketball championship celebration. He said he was relieved by Williams' decision to stav.
"I woke up at four this morning thinking about it," he said.
But Kansas alumni and basketball fan David Matthews said he hadn't lost any sleep. He said that Williams had spoken of Lawrence as his home for the past several years and that he knew Williams
See CROWD on page 3A
Roy Williams announces that he will continue as Kansas' basketball coach during a press conference Thursday night at Memorial Stadium. Photo by Nick Krug/KANSAN
Jayhawks vs. Tar Heels
Statistics during Roy Williams' tenure at the University of Kansas — from 1989 to 2000.
Wins and losses
| Jayhawks | 329 wins | 82 losses |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| Tar Heels | 321 wins | 100 losses |
Conference championships
| Jayhawks | 7 (1991, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98) |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tar Heels | 5 (1989, 91, 94, 97, 98) |
Final Four appearances
| Jayhawks | 2 (1991, 93) |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tar Heels | 5 (1991, 93, 95, 97, 98; NCAA Champs) |
Information compiled by Joshua Richards
Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
Matt Doherty, former Kansas assistant, is the new coach at UNC. File photo.
Doherty hire keeps Heels' hoops job in family
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
"I can't tell you how excited I am to be home," said Doherty, who was a starter on Dean Smith's 1982 North Carolina national championship team alongside Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. "It's a big day in my life that I didn't see coming, and I don't think a lot of you saw coming."
The two weeks of turbulence that engulfed the University of North Carolina during its search for a new men's basketball coach ended yesterday when the school hired Matt Doherty — Notre Dame head coach and former Kansas assistant.
Doherty, 38, became the leading candidate after last week's decision by Kansas coach Roy Williams not to take the job at his alma mater, according to James Moeser, incoming UNC chancellor.
Milwaukee Bucks coach George Karl and Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown, who both played for UNC under Smith, took their names out of the running Monday.
"I have not done what those men have done I am very humbled and I love them. I hope to achieve that kind of success." Doherty said
He said, he believed he had the tools to handle the job, especially the recruiting. Doherty was Williams' top recruiter during his seven years at Kansas.
"I feel I can coach basketball. I feel I can
relate to the kids and I can recruit," said Doherty, who will bring his Notre Dame coaching staff with him to North Carolina.
Doherty, 38, led the Fighting Irish to a 22-15 record as a rookie coach last season, guiding
Doherty left his one-year post at Notre Dame to sign a six-year contract to coach the Tar Heels, his alma mater.
He left behind a Notre Dame squad that will return probable preseason All-American Troy Murphy and a strong recruiting class.
them to a second place finish in the NIT Tournament.
Doherty said he wanted to bring his family closer to home, so that his children would be closer to their grandparents.
And he said that it was important to him that the position go to a disciple of Smith. Doherty said a conversation with Michael Jordan yesterday morning helped make up his mind to accept the coaching vacancy.
"It was important to me, after things didn't work out with Coach Williams, that someone with Carolina ties, a member of the family, be in this position," Doherty said.
UNC's chancellor, Moeser, declined to discuss contract terms for Doherty, who had four years remaining on a five-year deal at Notre Dame.
UNC players Jason Capel and Julius Peppers, who came out of the basketball office after the announcement declined comment.
Doherty will replace Bill Guthridge, Smith's longtime assistant who led the Tar Heels to two Final Fours in three years before announcing his retirement June 30.
Doherty will take over the Tar Heels program left by Smith, the all-time winningest coach in Division I with 879 victories and NCAA titles in 1982 and 1993.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Edited by Phil Cauthon
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