“Every time he stepped in the gym, I wanted to do better because he was there — because he was the most competitive guy I knew,’’ said Walters, a first-round NBA draft pick in 1993.

One example of that competitive nature, Walters said, was the “gut check.”

“We were in practice one day, and he was all fired up, and had us running,’’ he said. “ He looked over at this one guy, and then the trainer, and said, ‘Is he throwing up yet? Because we’re going to run until he does."

“Sure enough, he was. And that player went on to lead us to the Final Four. It was Mark Randall.”

Milt Newton Former Kansas player; current VP of Player Personnel for the Washington Wizards

“We had this guard named Lincoln Minor, and Lincoln would do these look-away, behind-the-back kind of passes in practice. You could tell when Coach was getting mad because that vein in the middle of his forehead starts pulsating. Coach always just wanted us to make the simple pass, and after Lincoln threw away another behind-the-back pass, Coach stopped practice and said, ‘Give me the dadgum ball! See what I think of your behind-the-back pass?’ And he kicks it up into the stands.

“... I walk up to him and said, ‘Hey Coach, that was a pretty good kick there,’ and he partly cracked a smile.”

Brad Daugherty Former UNC and NBA player who first met Williams when his bother played for him at Owen High

“He called me ‘Home,’ short for ‘Homeboy’ ... because we both grew up in the same place. ... He was really hard on me when I was at North Carolina, I always had to go the extra mile ... he really helped me establish a work ethic. He never thought that anyone should out-work me, and he instilled that in me.

“He’s one of my heroes — the way he carries himself, the way he cares. He doesn’t walk high in the clouds like some coaches, thinking he’s some philosophical genius. ... He says, ‘I’m not real good at a lot of things, but I can coach basketball; I can do that.’ And I admire that; he is so humble.”

Buddy Baldwin Williams’ high school coach at T.C. Roberson High “The best thing about Roy Williams: He’s never forgot his friends. He’s very successful, and I’m sure he’s rich, but he’s never forgotten the friends who were there for him along he way.”

Linda Baddour Wife of UNC athletics director Dick Baddour and former kindergarten teacher at University Presbyterian Church

“It was just a pleasure knowing him as a parent. Back when he was an assistant coach, he would bring the kids in and drop Kimmie at preschool and then bring Scott to kindergarten. ... I remember they’d walk around the room, looking at the blocks and art projects, and talk about what he [Scott] might do that day.

“It was their time together, and it was heartwarming, to see him so involved with the kids.”

Jerod Haase Former Kansas player, current UNC assistant coach

“We played at Oklahoma one time, and I went diving in the stands after the ball and acting like an idiot, as usual, and he looked over and thought someone was hitting me. So he took off his coat and ran after me to get me, and got one of the few technicals of his career.

“... He always looks after his players.”

Woody Durham Voice of the Tar Heels

"When he was here as an assistant coach under Dean Smith, he carried a candy bar in his pocket for luck.

"So in 1991, when he [at Kansas] was going to play Duke in the championship game, Jack Petty — a good friend of Roy's and mine from High Point, who is now deceased — and I went out and bought him a Mars bar.

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