“I can remember the days where they were really vicious,” Williams said. “Now they are very loud and very enthusiastic and sort of cute.”
Williams brings a veteran group to Durham this season. His team, led by juniors and seniors who have played at Duke before, know what to expect ahead of the road test.
“(I’m) not really worried about anything outside of the court,” senior Isaiah Hicks said. “I know our freshman year, it’s like, ‘Wow, kinda nervous, can’t believe this. We are actually playing in the game.’ But now, it’s just like, ‘Ready.’”
Williams calls out HB2
Williams criticized House Bill 2 after North Carolina beat Notre Dame on Sunday in Greensboro. On Tuesday, he again took aim at the law.
“I’m not a lawmaker, but I know the impression that that law has given other people of our state,” he said. “And that’s the saddest thing in the world to me ... ”
“I think it’s discriminatory, I don’t like it, I don’t think we should have it. And from my job dealing with student-athletes and some things that are really unique about our state of hosting events and those kinds of things, I think we are in a bad spot. I really do. And so I think it’s harmful to us — it’s just not right.”
Williams hasn’t shied away from politics this year. Before the season, he voiced his support for athletes like Colin Kaepernick protesting racial violence in this country, and he expressed disappointment in the polarity of the 2016 presidential election.
But North Carolina’s controversial law has been Williams’ biggest frustration.
“That’s the longest monologue you’ll ever hear from me about politics,” he said. “But yes, I said it and believe it.”
@bauman_john
sports@dailytarheel.com
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