Roy Williams had some explaining to do after not calling timeout on the final possession of North Carolina’s rivalry loss to Duke Wednesday night.
With the Tar Heels down one with twenty seconds left, Williams elected to allow his team to play it out instead of using one of his remaining timeouts to set up a play. The possession was a poor one, as Joel Berry – far from the team’s first option, and 2-for-12 shooting in the game – ended up throwing up the final, failed attempt as North Carolina lost 74-73.
Williams said after the game that he apologized for failing to call timeout in that spot.
“Coach [Dean] Smith taught me — and I believe this, I’m not blaming it on Coach Smith, it’s my call,” Williams said, via C.L. Brown of ESPN. “I think you should always attack before the defense gets set. I’ve always believed that, always taught that, the way I’ve always played. I told the kids I should’ve called the timeout.”
Despite his apology, though, Williams seemed set on sticking to his principles in the future.
“We didn’t get as good of a shot as I thought we would get but that something I’ve always believed in,” Williams continued. “I say it’s my fault. If we had to do it all over again tomorrow night I’ll probably do the same thing cause I think that’s the best way to play.”
It was a bad loss for the Tar Heels, who looked to have the game under control before blowing it down the stretch, and it’s even worse coming against a major rival. In retrospect, Williams should have called timeout – the Tar Heels never looked comfortable on that last possession.
It’s been a pretty trying week for Williams, who had a health scare on the bench the week prior.
