Tag: Roy Williams

Oklahoma legends included on 2024 College Football Hall of Fame ballot

Dewey Selmon, Josh Heupel, and Rocky Calmus were named to the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot.

A trio of Oklahoma Sooners legends have the opportunity to be enshrined in the illustrious College Football Hall of Fame.

[autotag]Dewey Selmon[/autotag], [autotag]Josh Heupel[/autotag], and [autotag]Rocky Calmus[/autotag] were placed on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame.

Dewey Selmon was a part of a fearsome defensive front that helped the Oklahoma Sooners win four straight Big 8 titles and back-to-back national championships in 1974 and 1975. He recorded 325 tackles, 25 tackles for loss and helped Oklahoma’s defense average 12.8 points per game or fewer from 1973 to 1975.

Josh Heupel was instrumental in leading Oklahoma’s resurgence. A junior college transfer orchestrated Oklahoma’s offensive explosion during his two years in Norman. He threw for 7,456 yards and 53 touchdowns, helping Oklahoma win the 2000 national championship. After his fantastic 2000 season, Heisman was the runner-up to the Heisman trophy.

If Heupel was at the center of Oklahoma’s offensive resurgence, Rocky Calmus could be considered the focal point for their defensive dominance during Oklahoma’s national championship season in 2000.  In 2001, Calmus won the Butkus Award as the top linebacker in the country. He still holds Oklahoma records for tackles for loss, sacks by an inside linebacker, and pass breakups by a linebacker.

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Roy Williams is the most recent of Oklahoma’s 23 total College Football Hall of Fame members, being inducted as part of the 2022 class.

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot considering more than 5.62 million people have played college football and only 1,074 players have been inducted,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a first-team All-American creates a much smaller pool of about 1,500 individuals who are even eligible. Being in today’s elite group means an individual is truly among the greatest to have ever played the game, and we look forward to announcing the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame Class early next year.”

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Twitter reacts to Dean Smith and Roy Williams’ placement in top 10 ranking

Twitter reacts to Dean Smith and Roy Williams placement in the top ten college basketball coaches of all-time.

Twitter was in a frenzy Monday night after the NCAA March Madness account released its top 10 college basketball coaches of all time.

Instead of using a human to create the list, it turned to artificial intelligence, using the popular growing ChatGPT to generate the rankings. Unsurprisingly, this caused quite a reaction, with fans debating the placement of some of the coaches featured on the list.

UNC is the only school with two coaches in the top 10. Dean Smith is ranked fourth and Roy Williams sixth. The only other coach from the ACC is Mike Krzyzewski, who ranked second. UCLA’s John Wooden claimed the top spot.

Many argued whether Bob Knight was over Williams, while others wondered how Tom Izzo cracked the list, but Bill Self didn’t. The list caused quite a discussion as fans gave their opinion on the AI-generated list.

Let’s see how Twitter reacted to the top 10 college basketball coaches all-time ranking.

What round Oklahoma Football stars have been drafted since 2000

A look back at where each former Oklahoma Sooner was drafted since 2000.

The Oklahoma Sooners had five players selected in the 2023 NFL draft. Led by Anton Harrison’s selection in the first round of the draft, the Sooners had a player in each of the first three rounds of the draft.

Oklahoma’s history of success has led to a rich history of draft picks over the years. Since the year 2000, the Sooners have had 19 players selected in the first round, including three first-overall picks and eight top-10 picks.

The last non-quarterback to be taken in the top 10 of the draft was Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson also represented the last offensive lineman taken in the first round of the draft until Harrison was selected on Thursday night.

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Here’s a look at each Oklahoma Sooners draft pick since the year 2000 and what round each player was taken.

ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament: All-time championships by program

What year and team is the greatest in the history of the ACC?

The ACC was the first conference to use a postseason tournament to determine it’s champion and in the time when only conference champions were sent to the NCAA Tournament, the conference started a trend.

Over the years there have been countless basketball legends that have played in the ACC and are responsible for incredible ACC Tournament moments. Michael Jordan, Len Bias, Tim Duncan, Shane Battier, and David Thompson are just a handful of the many.

Duke and North Carolina certainly come to mind first when you think of the ACC Tournament all-time but others have hoisted the trophy after winning the title and created memorable moments themselves.

As the 2023 ACC Tournament gets started this week, here is a look at how every basketball program has performed in ACC Tournament history.

Roy Wiliams and his wife Wanda hilariously did the ‘Swag Surf’ at Notre Dame-UNC game

More like swag swaying, am I right?

Former North Carolina men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife, Wanda Williams, felt moved by the rhythm at the Tar Heels game on Saturday.

During the pregame “Swag Surfin'” fan swaying (no, we don’t know why people do this, either), the Williams decided to get in on the music and move along with the Tar Heel fans.

Roy Williams hasn’t been on the bench for North Carolina since 2021, and Tar Heel fans are surely glad to still see him rocking his blue sweater vest and having a fun time at the game.

He’s known for his dance moves, after all.

Hey, if the music inspires you to “Swag Surf,” you might as well give yourself to the beat.

Sports crowd “Swag Surfin'” is much more enjoyable than the wave, which never really works and asks far too much of a stadium’s worth of people.

The 11-5 Tar Heels downed Notre Dame 81-64 with the Williams in attendance, so expect more “Swag Surfin'” from the couple in the days ahead.

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Roy Williams has surprise answer for greatest shot in UNC basketball history

Former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams has a surprising choice for the greatest shot in program history.

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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Heading to the Hall: Roy Williams to be honored during Baylor game

Former Sooner Roy WIlliams will be honored after the first quarter of the Oklahoma-Baylor game. From @bendackiw

The man known as “Superman” Roy Williams will receive an NFF Hall of Fame On Campus Salute in honor of his induction to the College Football Hall of Fame.

The salute will take place between the first and second quarter of the Oklahoma Sooners-Baylor Bears game on Saturday.

Williams had a fantastic career in Norman for the Sooners, but his big moment came during the 2001 Red River Showdown.

Flying through the air, Williams stripped the football away from Texas Longhorns quarterback Chris Simms. The Sooners’ defense recovered the ball in the end zone to give OU a 14-3 lead. The Sooners would win the game.

22 Sooners have been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, and now Williams is the 23rd.

He was named to five Pro Bowls after being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.

From the University of Oklahoma:

During the NFF Hall of Fame On-Campus Salutes, each electee returns to his respective school to accept a Hall of Fame plaque that will stay on permanent display at the institution. The events take place on the field during a home game, and many Hall of Famers cite the experience as the ultimate capstone to their careers, providing them one more chance to take the field and be recognized in front of their home crowd.

The 2022 College Football Hall of Fame Class will be officially inducted during the 64th NFF Annual Awards Dinner Presented by Las Vegas on Dec. 6 at Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Click here for more information on the Awards Dinner, including options to purchase tickets online, special travel rates to the event from Delta Air Lines and Bellagio and a concierge service provided by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

“Roy Williams struck fear into his opponents while leading Oklahoma to a national title and recording one of the most memorable plays in college football history,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “We are thrilled to honor him at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for his upcoming College Football Hall of Fame induction.”

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Roy Williams delivers speech to Team USA at Presidents Cup

Former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams delivered a speech to Team USA ahead of the Presidents Cup in Charlotte.

Former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams has enjoyed retirement thus far and it’s allowed him to enjoy things outside of the game of basketball.

One of Williams’ true loves is golf. We’ve seen him numerous times on the course playing or spectating and this weekend in Charlotte is no different for the legendary coach. Williams is not only in attendance for the 2022 Presidents Cup but he also stopped by to give Team USA a speech.

North Carolina native and UNC alum Davis Love III gave an interview ahead of the event and he revealed that Roy gave a speech to Team USA for the event:

It looks like Roy is enjoying his time at the event as well:

Let’s hope the speech can deliver Team USA a win in the big event as Williams continues to live life.

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LOOK: Kennedy Meeks reunites with Roy Williams

Former UNC basketball standout Kennedy Meeks caught up with Roy Williams as the two shared a special moment together.

Despite not being at the helm anymore, former UNC basketball head coach Roy Williams is still an iconic figure in and around Chapel Hill. Williams has been spotted numerous times in public at events including the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament run.

It’s no secret he’s a fan favorite for the program but he’s also a favorite of his former players as well. Including [autotag]Kennedy Meeks[/autotag] who developed into a really good player in his four years at North Carolina, helping deliver Roy another title.

Earlier this week, Meeks caught up with Williams as the former head coach was able to meet the former center’s daughter, Sage.

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That’s just an awesome moment and the definition of the Carolina Family. It never ends even after you are done playing and is passed down through generations.

Maybe we will see Sage lacing it up for the UNC women’s team down the line and follow in her father’s footsteps.

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Oklahoma football all-time roster: Defensive starters and backups

See which legends of defense made the cut in our all-time Oklahoma Sooners football roster.

The Oklahoma Sooners have put together some of the more vaunted defenses in college football history. In addition to having some of the best units in the nation, the Sooners had some of the more iconic players in the sport run roughshod over their opponents.

From Lee Roy Selmon to Roy Williams, Oklahoma’s been a terror on the gridiron throughout the years.

As it was choosing the Oklahoma Sooners’ all-time offense, narrowing down defensive linemen and linebackers was a challenge as the Sooners have produced some incredibly talented players in the front seven.

For more coverage on the Oklahoma Sooners, check out SoonersWire.com. Many of the historical stats can be found at SoonerSports.com.

Check out our other College Wire all-time defenses: Alabama / Auburn / Clemson / Colorado / Florida / Georgia / Iowa / LSU / Michigan / Michigan State / Nebraska / North Carolina / Ohio State / Oregon / Penn State / Rutgers / Tennessee / Texas / Texas A&M / USC