I
14A - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Williams does'give a
shit' about Carolina
Final Four on line for
Michigan at Regionals ,
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Three
years after turning down his beloved
alma mater, coach Roy Williams is
leaving Kansas for North Carolina, two
people who were in a players' meeting
said yesterday.
"It's sad for the program and the
players who are here," said Jeff
Boschee, who graduated last year. "It's
tough for them. I don't know how I
would have handled it."
Williams' return to Chapel Hill, N.C.,
ends a 15-year tenure at the helm of a
program that became one of college
basketball's most successful under his
watch. The decision came just a week
after Kansas lost to Syracuse, 81-78, for
the national title. Upset about the loss
and about being pushed by CBS
reporter Bonnie Bernstein to talk about
the coaching vacancy at North Carolina,
Williams snapped, "I could give a shit
about North Carolina right now."
Not all the players in yesterday's half-
hour meeting at Allen Fieldhouse were
sad after hearing Williams' news.
Wayne Simien, who dislocated his
shoulder in January and later had sea-
son-ending surgery, appeared angry.
"I gave my right arm for him, literal-
ly," said Simien, wearing a sling. "I gave
my right arm for that man."
Williams emerged teary-eyed from
the meeting and refused to reveal his
decision. Instead, he planned an evening
news conference, although he did not
say whether it would be held in
Lawrence or Chapel Hill, N.C., at the
Tar Heels' campus.
North Carolina said it would have a
news conference at the men's basketball
practice gym, although the topic wasn't
disclosed.
"This is personal fellas. There is
something I want to say," a choked-up
Williams told reporters. "This has been
a special place. I really appreciate the
way you have treated me."
AP PHOTO
Just days after a national title game loss, Roy Williams waved goodbye to Kansas.
A private jet was. waiting at
Lawrence's municipal airport with a
flight plan for Chapel Hill, said Lloyd
Hetrick, of Hetrick Aviation Services.
Williams, who has coached the Jay-
hawks for 15 years, lost last week to
Syracuse in the national championship
game. North Carolina is seeking to
replace Matt Doherty, who resigned
shortly before the Final Four.
Williams was an assistant at North
Carolina under Dean Smith and was
also a candidate for the job three years
ago, when Doherty was hired.
The fastest coach in NCAA Divi-
sion I history to win 400 games,
Williams (418-101) has won nine
conference championships at Kansas
and took the Jayhawks to the past 14
NCAA Tournaments.
By Melanie Kebier
Daily Sports Writer
After taking home the Southern Divi-
sion championship last weekend, the
Michigan water polo team is in a win-
or-go-home situation.
The Wolverines will enter the Eastern
Regional Championship as the No. 1
seed and are looking to gain a bid to the
NCAA Final Four.
"Our expectations are to be the best
team in the East,' Michigan water polo
coach Matt Anderson said. "We're at a
point now where we've realized that we
cannot lose."
Winning out definitely won't be easy.
After facing Iona and Hartwick in the
first two rounds, Michigan will proba-
bly match up in the final game of the
Regionals against its biggest rival in the
East, Indiana. The teams have met three
times this year already.
The first meeting between Michigan
and Indiana in January resulted in a 12-
6 win for the Wolverines. After outscor-
ing the Hoosiers 5-0 in the first quarter,
Michigan cruised to victory. But the
match in March was a different story.
With many key players injured, Michi-
gan had to fight through a close game
to secure the exciting 9-7 win. This time
it was Indiana that jumped out to an
early lead, forcing Michigan to come
back and eventually win in overtime.
When the Wolverines faced Indiana
with the division championship on the
line, Anderson decided to implement.
some new tactics.
"When you play a team multiple'
times in a year, you play different styles
against them, so at the end of the year
you can decide which one works best,"
he said.
Last weekend, the Wolverines took a
different approach most importantly on
defense. Anderson decided to allow
Indiana to take as many shots as they
wanted - from the outside.
"I allowed Indiana to think they were
doing what they wanted to do," Ander-
son said. "But they were taking the
shots I wanted them to take."
Much like a zone defense in basket-
ball that protects the inside and allows
the other team to attempt 3-point shots,
Michigan's defense let Indiana take the
shots it thought Armstrong had the best
chance of blocking.
The plan worked - the Hoosiers
were held scoreless in the first half.
Their only two goals came in the third
quarter, and then the Michigan
defense clamped down. Goalie Betsey
Armstrong notched a season-high 17
saves, and senior Jo Antonsen record-
ed a hat trick to propel Michigan to a
6-2 victory.
But the defense isn't the only thing
Anderson thinks will help the Wolver-
ines against Indiana.
"The best thing (we have against
Indiana) is the confidence we have,"
Anderson said. "The confidence factor
is the difference."
Michigan will need all its weapons
next weekend when they head to the
Eastern Championships. Anderson is
confident the Wolverines can get to the
final game, where they will likely face
Indiana yet again. After that, the match-
es become extremely competitive.
"If I had to garner a guess, I would
say it would be UCLA, Stanford, Loy-
ola-Marymount, and hopefully Michi-
gan in the Final Four," Anderson said.
But first, the Wolverines have to try
for the title of best in the East.
6
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