North Carolinaneeded a basketball coach, and it set its sights on one in the Final Four.
Its top target had a good job. A darn good one, and one newspaper columnist felt adamant Roy Williams wouldn't leaveKansas, even if his alma mater tried to call him home to Carolina. Williams already turned down UNC once before, a few years previously.
No way Roy's going to Carolina.
So read the headline ofJoe Posnanski's columnin the Kansas City Star on April 2, 2003. Two weeks later, Posnanski wrote another column about how he got it all wrong. He trusted a coach to have loyalty. Whoops, rookie mistake.
If we've learned one thing in the more than two decades since then, it's to never say never when it comes to these situations, and that a coach's loyalty is the underdog when matched up against his ego.
Now here we are at anotherFinal Four, and UNC's hiring, and it's déjà vu, with stay-or-go questionshovering over the coaches of the two favored teams in Indianapolis.
Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the
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Arkansas Razorbacks cheerleaders in the second half against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors during a
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Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournamentat Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.
Tommy Lloyd fuels speculation about UNC job
This time, nobody's writing there's "no way"Tommy Lloyd would leave Arizona for UNC. That doesn't mean Lloyd will definitely bolt, but even he's not saying he won't. Lloyd himself fed into speculation he's a prime option for UNC when he said, "Arizona's going to have another good coach after me, I promise you." And, when will Arizona need to hire its next coach? Will that be next week? Next year? Ten years from now?
No telling. At least, Lloyd's not telling, other than to say he's "present in the moment" and that neither he nor his players are distracted by UNC speculation.
He's probably right about his players, anyway.
Arizona's Brayden Burries, Koa Peat and Motiejus Krivas are projected first-round NBA Draft picks. Wildcats point guard Jaden Bradley is a senior. They're out the door after this Final Four, regardless of Lloyd's decision. A fifth starter, Ivan Kharchenkov, might return for another college season, but thanks to the transfer portal, he could follow his coach if Lloyd decided to leave. No stress. No fuss. No distraction.
Twenty-three years ago, KU star Wayne Simien expressed open frustration when Williams jilted the Jayhawks for North Carolina. Now, athletes better understand it's not personal, it's just business, because players field interest from other high-paying suitors, too, and face business decisions of their own.
Is Dusty May more of a 'Michigan man' than Bill Frieder?
While we're on the subject of déjà vu, here's Michigan with a team that can win it all, but willcoach Dusty Mayprove himself a "Michigan man" or a renegade?
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If UNC would like to have Lloyd, then it shouldloveto have May. He's now a veteran of Final Fours, having led Florida Atlantic there in 2023.
Toppmeyer:Dusty May so good, you almost forget Sherrone Moore — now, UNC needs him
Perhaps, Michigan can breathe slightly easier than Arizona's administration, because at least May isn't talking about how great Michigan's next coach is going to be.
Even if May wouldn't leave Michigan for UNC, the Tar Heels could cause a domino effect that results in May leaving Michigan. Just as the Wolverines lost John Beilein to the Cleveland Cavaliers, May has the goods of a future NBA coach. Andif UNC hires Billy Donovan, well, then the Chicago Bulls will need a coach, won't they?
Michigan knows what it's like for a coach to spurn it. When Bill Frieder accepted the Arizona State job ahead of the 1989 NCAA Tournament, Bo Schembechler promptly booted Frieder and promoted Steve Fisher, explaining his decision with the now-famous line that, "A Michigan man is going to coach Michigan."
The lesson Frieder provided: If you're leaving for another job, maybe don't tell anyone until the NCAA Tournament is finished.
Worked out great for Michigan. Fisher led the Wolverines to a national championship.
Never mind a Michigan man. The Wolverines would do well to keep their Indiana man. May got his start as a student manager under Bob Knight, but Frieder proved a coach's alma mater doesn't mean everything to everyone, even if Mama lured Williams home in 2003.
"I was a Tar Heel born. When I die, I'll be a Tar Heel dead," Williams said after he took the UNC job.
In between, he became a turncoat at Kansas.
We learned then that when North Carolina wants to hire a Final Four coach, it's naïve to think, "no way."
Blake Toppmeyeris a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him atBToppmeyer@gannett.comand follow him on X@btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May would be great for UNC — if they pull a Roy Williams
North Carolinaneeded a basketball coach, and it set its sights on one in the Final Four. Its top target had a ...
