As University of North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams watched Tyler Hansbrough dominate the 2004 Tournament of Champions, he dreamed of what the Poplar Bluff High School junior could become as a Tar Heel.
"He was one of those kids that when you go watch him play, you get excited about what you think can happen with him later,"
Williams said.
The former Kansas coach was in town Thursday as the guest speaker for the 13th Steak & Steak dinner to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Springfield.
Hansbrough controlled that high school game in Springfield, shooting a perfect 12-for-12 from the floor and scoring 35 points in a 71-56 third-place victory over Kickapoo High School. And Williams was right about the monster Tyler Hansbrough would become when the forward led UNC to this year's NCAA championship as a senior.
"To me, he stood for something good in college basketball,"
Williams said. "He said it is OK to go back to school. You don't have to take the money and run (to the NBA)."
Williams also has turned down opportunities in the NBA. He said he has had offers from 11 pro teams --and three from the Lakers -- but loves the college game too much to leave.
"I love college towns,"
said Williams, who returned to his alma mater in 2003.
"Being around the college kids keeps everybody a little younger, and the older I get, the younger I want to be."
In 15 years at Kansas, Williams was named national coach of the year four times but never won a national title. That made his first championship -- with the Tar Heels in 2005 -- special.
"It was a relief for my family and friends that they wouldn't have to defend me anymore,"
Williams said. "That was thrilling, and it was a great way to win."
Williams said he fondly remembers his time with the Jayhawks. He called Allen Fieldhouse the biggest homecourt advantage in the game.
"I make the North Carolina people mad when I say that, but I believe it's true,"
Williams said. "The people are so passionate."
Williams also recalled the animosity of the Kansas-Missouri border war, which he likened to the UNC-Duke rivalry.
"They're two great rivalries,"
Williams said.
"Some of the wins of our club that were the most satisfying for me were at Columbia,"
Williams said. "And some of the most disappointing losses were at Columbia."
Less than a month after winning his second national championship, Williams said he's already working on building another title team. He went back on the recruiting trail a few days after cutting down the nets in Detroit.
Williams said two of the biggest thrills of his life were hugging UNC forward Sean May after the 2005 title and seeing Hansbrough's face after the Tar Heels' 89-72 victory over Michigan State this year.
"The look on his face was like a 3-year-old who went into the candy store,"
Williams said of Hansbrough. "He grabbed me and hugged me and almost broke my back."
