Since his retirement a few years ago, legendary head coach [autotag]Roy Williams[/autotag] has made a few public appearances but hasn’t done much in terms of interviews.
But recently, Williams caught up with the News & Observer to discuss retirement as well as some UNC basketball. In the interview, Williams was posed with the question of which shot is the greatest in UNC basketball history. And his answer might be a little shocking.
The program has had some iconic shots over its long history including from Michael Jordan and even Luke Maye. But neither of those shots was the greatest in program history according to Williams. Instead, that honor belongs to Marcus Paige and his shot in the 2016 national championship game to tie it against Villanova:
Well, I would put Marcus at No. 1. The reason is the shot that Michael made, I can make. The shot that Luke Maye made, I can make. … The shot that Marcus made, I couldn’t make. So that was part of it. We were 10 down with like four minutes to go in that game and he had willed us back to get us into that spot. And the contortion of his body was just unbelievable.
Now Michael Jordan’s (shot) was winning a national championship. And that elevates it up there as well. But just for the shot, I would go Marcus 1, and Michael 2. I even told Michael, “If we’d gotten it into overtime and won, that would have gone down as the most famous shot. Your shot would have been number two.”
It’s interesting to hear Williams’ reasoning behind why he picked Paige’s shot over the other two. Now, he’s right that it was a very difficult shot as he had to double pump and angle his body while attempting it.
The Tar Heels did lose the game whereas the other two shots were game-winners and led to titles (Maye’s a few games later). But those three will certainly go down in history as some of the greatest shots for UNC’s program.
Now debate amongst yourselves.
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