Roy Williams: North Carolina 'Should Probably Fire Me' After Loss to Clemson
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams was quite hard on himself after the Tar Heels' 79-76 loss to the Clemson Tigers on Saturday.
"Gotta tell [athletic director] Bubba [Cunningham] he should probably fire me, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea," Williams told reporters in Chapel Hill, N.C. "The coach is supposed to help his kids. I didn't help them very much.''
The 69-year-old head coach had plenty of reasons to be upset following Saturday's loss. North Carolina has lost seven of its last nine games, and Saturday snapped Clemson's 59-game losing streak in Chapel Hill. The Tigers had never previously won at North Carolina.
"We're certainly glad to have it past us and not be asked about it anymore," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said postgame, "And we can move on to other things that we need to accomplish in our program.''
North Carolina has been decimated by injury this season. Five-star freshman Cole Anthony is out indefinitely with a knee injury, and the Tar Heels were also missing freshman point guard Jeremiah Francis on Saturday. North Carolina also lost three first-round picks in the 2019 NBA draft.
The Tar Heels are now 8–8, 1–4 ACC in 2019-20. They are in danger of missing their first NCAA Tournament since 2009-10. North Carolina has finished under .500 in the ACC just once in 16 seasons Williams.
North Carolina will have a week off before heading on the road for a matchup at Pitt on Jan. 18. Tip-off from the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pa. is slated for Noon ET.