All Tar Heels

UNC Basketball: Roy Williams Reveals All-Time Favorite Duke Players

One Duke basketball legend's mom wanted him to commit to then-UNC basketball assistant Roy Williams.

Matt Giles

UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams versus Duke (Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports)
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Between his 43 years as an assistant coach (1978-88) and head coach (2003-21) with the Tar Heels and head coach at Kansas (1988-03), retired UNC basketball legend Roy Williams faced countless Duke basketball greats.

And it's safe to say he had his hands full in devising ways to contain all those stars who played for retired Duke basketball treasure Mike Krzyzewski (1980-22). As a head coach, Williams finished with a 19-25 record against the rival blueblood Blue Devils (1-3 at Kansas and 18-22 at UNC).

Interestingly, two of the three he says he liked the most — the third being 2001 Duke basketball national champ Shane Battier — were Christian Laettner and Grant Hill. In the 1991 title bout, their prowess, including Hill's epic alley-oop slam, led the Blue Devils over his Jayhawks, 72-65, giving Coach K his first national championship.

During the 73-year-old Williams' insightful 90-minute appearance on the latest Chin Music podcast, where he discussed his high school days in Asheville, N.C., to coaching many of college basketball's all-time talents, the three-time national champion explained his ties to Hill and Laettner that made them his favorite Blue Devils.

"Grant Hill, probably," Roy Williams said when asked about his favorite Duke basketball player outside of Shane Battier, whom he had tried to lure to Kansas in the late 1990s. "I tried to recruit Grant before I left North Carolina [to become head coach at Kansas]. He was a sophomore [in high school] my last year there. And I didn't get a chance to recruit him from Kansas.

"I tell you who was good to me and great to me and that I recruited really hard at North Carolina as an assistant...Christian Laettner. I recruited him really, really hard. I was being honored at the Final Four last year...Christian was there and said, 'Do you still remember when I called you and told you I was going to Duke? I told you my mom cried when I told her I wasn't going to play for you.'"

Imagine Laettner, arguably the all-time most hated college athlete, being a UNC basketball legend. No, on second thought, let's not go there.

RELATED: UNC's All-Time Loudest Home Win Over Archrival Duke

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Matt Giles
MATT GILES

Matt Giles is the editor and publisher of North Carolina Tar Heels on SI, Duke Blue Devils on SI, and NC State Wolfpack on SI, making him a key source for comprehensive coverage of these storied college basketball programs. Since joining UNC on SI in 2023, Matt has been dedicated to providing in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive content on all three teams. He covers everything from game previews and recaps to player profiles and recruiting updates. Matt's expert knowledge of these teams has made his work a go-to resource for fans and followers of Duke, NC State, and UNC. As publisher, he shapes the editorial direction, ensuring that the most relevant and timely information reaches his audience.

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