Roy Williams apologizes to team, says he should have called timeout
Duke, playing with a shorthanded lineup, stunned No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday night with a 74-73 win.
One of the criticisms following the loss for the Tar Heels feel on head coach Roy Williams. With 20 seconds left, Williams elected not to call a timeout. North Carolina sophomore point guard Joel Berry II got into the lane, but his shot was tipped by Derryck Thornton as time expired.
According to C.L. Brown of ESPN.com, Williams apologized to his team for not calling the timeout.
"Coach Smith taught me -- and I believe this, I'm not blaming it on Coach Smith, it's my call," Williams said. "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."
Not calling a timeout in these situations is part of Williams' coaching philosophy. But the problem on this final play was a theme for the second half for the Tar Heels.
Despite a 29-point, 19-rebound performance, senior forward Brice Johnson failed to get a touch on the last possession, something that became common down the stretch. Instead Berry was forced to take a contested jumper. He and Marcus Paige combined for 4-of-22 shooting. As a team, North Carolina shot seven percent from beyond the 3-point line.
On the interior, Duke had no answer for Johnson. But in the second half, UNC couldn't capitalize on Johnson's matchup advantage, even when Duke center Marshall Plumlee picked up his fourth foul with more than 14 minutes remaining in regulation.
Duke and North Carolina meet again on March 5 to close out the regular season.
(h/t ESPN)
