KU
Kansan
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
Feature: Home on the range for big cats in Oskaloosa.
SEE PAGE 1B
Inside: Prospect of Roy's departure stuns KU, Lawrence.
SEE PAGE 3A,6A
(USPS 650-640) • VOL.110 NO.151
WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2000
'Tar'ed or feathered?
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Williams to announce decision before Friday
By Michael Rigg
By Michael Rigg
sports@kansas.com
Kansas sportswriter
A moment of relative calm has settled on Mount Oread as the eye of the hurricane surrounding men's basketball coach Roy Williams passed over
"When I was a kid, I dreamed of playing at North Carolina and I dreamed of coaching at North Carolina. But it was a dream of being an assistant to Dean Smith. I never once thought of being on that campus as a head basketball coach."
Roy Williams Basketball coach
the University only this week
the holiday weekend is the only thing holding up Williams' announcement that he will take over the Tar Heels' program.
But Bob Frederick, Kansas athletics director, denied the report that Williams was already an ex-Javhawk.
Officials at the North Carolina athletics department would not comment on any part of the coach selection process.
"That's crazy," Frederick said Monday. "That's just nure speculation."
Dick Baddour and will make his announcement sometime this week.
The first part of the stunt hit on Friday when Williams announced he would consider taking the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina. The last part of the storm is expected to hit later this week — perhaps as soon as today — when Williams announces whether he will stay at KU or take over the Tor Heel ment would not commit selection process.
Frederick also denied a report in Monday's Lawrence Journal World, which stated that Frederick met with KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway Monday to develop an emergency plan if Williams leaves.
"The chancellor is on vacation with out-of-town guests," Frederick said, noting that Hemenway was still in Lawrence.
But someone in the Athletics Department was working on the necessary affirmative action steps should a new coach be necessary, Frederick said.
As of Monday, Williams was vacationing at his South Carolina beachhouse and pondering his coaching future. Widespread reports say that Williams has already met with North Carolina athletics director
According to the North Carolina fan Web site, goheels.com, the decision was already made and
He said Williams was expected to return to Lawrence today or Thursday, with an announcement coming soon after. Frederick also said that this could change because he had not had any contact with Williams since Sunday night.
The speculation surrounding Williams started on Thursday night when reports were leaked to the media that Tar Heel coach Bill Guthridge would retire. On Friday, Guthridge stepped down and Williams became the top candidate for the job.
— nis alma mater — to consider taking the post.
Later that day, at a hastily called press conference, Williams said he owed it to North Carolina
"To be honest, I never thought this day would come." Williams said on Friday. "I was talking to Coach Guthridge, trying to get him to stay for five more years, then I'd be too old."
At the press conference, Williams promised to make up his mind by July 7. the day before the summer recruiting period officially starts. An announcement could come sooner than that.
Either way, Williams will have to decide between the school that gave him his first head coaching job or the university that he dreamed of coaching as a child.
"When I was a kid, I dreamed of playing at North Carolina and I dreamed of coaching at North Carolina," said Williams, a native of Spruce Pine, N.C., said. "But it was a
dream of being an assistant to Dean Smith. I never once thought of being on that campus as a head basketball coach."
Williams' possible departure has left students at other Big 12 Conference schools with bittersweet feelings.
Edited by Jim O'Malley
"It would be sad to see him go because he's such a great coach," said Aron Snyder, a junior at the University of Colorado. "But if he does leave, maybe we could actually beat Kansas."
Roy, say it ain't so
By Chris Wristen
Kansan guest columnist
Dreaming is a powerful thing. Just ask Rov Williams.
I told him I planned to play for him after high school. He encouraged me to follow my dreams, study hard, and keep up the good work.
While I didn't fulfill my end of the bargain, mainly due to a lack of basketball talent, he has always kept his promises to Javhawk fans.
I still recall talking to Coach Williams after the Kansas vs. Iowa State game when I was in eighth grade.
He has turned down offers to coach for NBA teams 23 times, he has turned down numerous offers from
Commentary
other schools, and he's fought off rumors of going back to North Carolina too many times to count. No one has ever believed it, and we've had nightmares about life without Roy. We've worried that someday the rumors would turn out to be true. But he's always been honest with us. Always.
He's also blessed this University with one of the finest basketball programs in the nation. No coach has matched the overall success that Williams has given Kansas in his 12 years as coach.
Williams brought Kansas bask $ ^{a+} $
ball to a pinnacle of success that no one could have imagined when he was hired as an unknown assistant coach at North Carolina 12 years ago. He has turned Kansas basketball into a national model for respect. Coach Williams has built a program that all fans can be proud of. Williams should be proud of it too.
"For the first three years here I felt like I was walking into the office of a head basketball coach, and since then I've felt like I was walking into my office," Williams said at his press conference Friday.
He has said many times that his finger prints are all over the program and that it is his program.
He also got a little choked up at the
press conference when speaking of his players and a pair of glasses that Eric Chenowith gave him. It's the people who are important to Williams.
But then there's that dream.
Yes, Williams has given us a lifetime of dreams and memories. Now it's our turn to let him do some dreaming of his own. We owe it to him to grant his wish of patience while he dreams for a little bit and makes his decision.
We'll soon find out what dreams lie in the future for Williams, but I believe his skies will be gleaming Javawk Blue by Friday.
Wristen is Leawood junior in News-Editorial Journalism.
KU recruiting sweats out Roy's decision
By David Perico
Special to the Kansan
The future recruiting efforts of Kansas' men's basketball team may hang in the balance this week as potential recruits wait for Coach Roy Williams to decide his own future.
Mike Sullivan — a recruiting analyst with Insiders Report, an Internet recruiting information service — said he spoke with several potential Kansas recruits after Williams announced he was considering the job offer from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After suffering major disappointments with the loss of all-star recruits DeShawn Stevenson and Travon Bryant, next year's recruitment class could be crucial to the future success of KU's team.
Nationally-ranked recruits Aaron Miles and David Lee said they would be disappointed if Williams left for UNC but they would take a look at the new coach before making a change of plans, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said that University of Missouri head coach Quin Snyder could gain a recruiting advantage over Kansas if it did not hire a coach quickly.
However, Sullivan said, "Kansas would not lose much if they hired a new, big-name coach right away. Kansas has a rich history and will be a great no matter who the head coach is. With the right coach, the power of recruiting will return to Kansas."
Peter George, a 1970 graduate, served on the student/faculty board that supervised Kansas athletics in 1969 and since then has followed basketball recruiting.
"KU will have the best recruiting class in history next year if Williams stays," he said. "If Williams doesn't take the UNC job, he will be seen as a lifer at KU, and that will add to the natural strength of the KU recruiting program."
Speculation about a possible replacement for Williams has been mounting in the press and in the Javhawk community.
George said that if Williams does leave, the team's recruiting efforts wouldn't be greatly harmed if a respected, dedicated young coach, preferably with Kansas ties, became the new head coach.
The most frequently mentioned names include Neil Dougherty,
Most media speculation about a possible replacement revolves around present and former assistants to Williams.
Kansas assistant coach, and head coaches Matt Doherty, Notre Dame University; Kevin Stallings, Vanderbilt University; and Steve Robinson, Florida State University.
Tony Harvey, Missouri assistant coach, said Dougherty recruited him to play at Cameron University when Dougherty was an assistant there. He said Dougherty's ability to relate to players was even more important now than it was when he was a player because of the lure of the NBA.
Harvey said Kansas' next coach should be someone who knew the system at Kansas and could hit the ground running if Williams left. Harvey said he thought that Dougherty would be an excellent replacement because he understood the recruiting needs of the Jayhawks and knew the players.
—Edited by Phil Cauthon