North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams announces retirement

North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball coach Roy Williams announced his retirement Thursday after 33 seasons as a Division I head coach.

Williams, 70, won three NCAA Tournament titles at North Carolina, his alma mater and finishes his career with 903 victories (third all-time). He advanced to the Final Four nine times and was inducted to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Before returning to North Carolina in 2003, Williams was the head coach at Kansas for 15 seasons. He is the only coach with 400 wins at two schools. 

Prior to becoming the Jayhawks head coach in 1988, he spent 10 years on the Tar Heels bench as an assistant under the legendary Dean Smith, who was a mentor to Williams. 

Over the course of his career, Williams coached 32 future NBA first-round draft picks and became the third coach ever to reach the men's NCAA Tournament on 30 occasions. His 79 wins in the "Big Dance" ranks second all-time, and his teams earned 13 No. 1 seeds. 

North Carolina earned an 8-seed in the 2021 men's NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round, the only time that happened during his career. 

UNC and Williams will hold a news conference at 4 p.m. 

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