Roy Williams: ‘My favorite senior group I’ve ever had’

Roy Williams couldn’t tell you about the details of the game.

The details were the least important thing in the world. It was Senior Night. Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson and Joel James took the floor for the final time in their Tar Heel careers.

Winning — that was important.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever felt as much stress over a regular season game as I did tonight,” said Williams after beating Syracuse 75-70. “That was maybe more important than any game I’ve been involved in.”

This could be the most important senior class Williams has ever had. He made that clear to everyone in the Smith Center after the game — something he’s only done on one other senior night.

“These guys have made me be able to live because I’ve felt like we’ve been stuck out on an island by ourselves,” he said. “And Marcus, Brice, Joel — you could be my favorite senior group I’ve ever had.”

The off-the-court challenges the North Carolina men’s basketball team has faced the past four years have been immense: the suspensions, the scandal, the death of Williams’ mentor, friend and the namesake of the building he was now standing in — now crying in.

The three players he was talking about — the three who would never again run up and down the Carolina Blue court — kept him going.

James, the gentle giant with the fantastic faces and the wide smile.

“Joel’s grown up — not physically — but grown up right in front of my eyes,” Williams said. “He’s been one of the most mature youngsters that I’ve ever known in my life. I would’ve adopted him the first day, and I would still adopt him.”

Johnson, who used to be a role player off the bench, is now a National Player of the Year candidate.

“Brice, I’ve pushed, I’ve pushed, I’ve pushed, I’ve pushed, I’ve pushed,” Williams said. “Offensively, it’s on one hand the number of people that I’ve ever coached in 28 years that’s been able to do the things that Brice Johnson has done.”

And Paige, the skinny point guard who — if not for former classmate J.P. Tokoto — might never have come to Chapel Hill.

“Marcus is a young man that’s felt the weight of the world on his shoulders for four years,” Williams said. “And he’s had to do so much ... But I’ve never coached a young man more that I’ve admired, than I’ve admired Marcus Paige.”

So don’t worry about the details.

Worry about watching James’ eyes go wide after he puts one back.

Worry about savoring the raw emotion of Johnson. Because now you know where it comes from.

“(Coach Hubert Davis), you reminded me why I play basketball,” he said. “You told me to play for my mother. And that’s what I do everyday.”

Worry about watching the point guard from Marion, Iowa, who no one thought would be good enough.

“(Coach Williams), you probably had more confidence in me than I did,” Paige said. “You always believed in me.”

But — don’t worry. They’ve played their last game here. That doesn’t mean it’s over.

“We’re not done,” Paige said. “We’ve got so much left to do.”

@CarlosACollazo

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