The ride of his life

Rolls Royce carts Williams to Hall of Fame ring ceremony

SPRINGFIELD, MASS. -- It took Roy Williams 27 years of coaching at the college level to snare a national basketball championship.

Tugging off the bejeweled ring commemorating North Carolina's 2005 NCAA title Saturday morning, the Tar Heels coach cleared room on his finger for an even more prized ring.

Williams' induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame culminated Saturday with a parade and awarding of rings to the Hall's Class of 2007.

On a sunny, clear morning, Williams and his wife, Wanda, drew the second car in a convoy of Rolls Royce convertibles that cut through downtown Springfield for one last stop at the Hall. The Williamses were welcomed there by a small crowd of fans and well-wishers there to welcome the newest members of the Hall of Fame.

Along with Williams, the Hall this weekend inducted NBA coach Phil Jackson, who led the Lakers and Bulls to nine NBA titles, the 1966 NCAA champions from Texas Western, four-time WNBA championship coach Van Chancellor, the late referee Mendy Rudolph and international coaches Pedro Ferrandiz and Mirko Novosel.

Williams' arrival drew loud cheers and whistles from the small but visible crowd of UNC fans dressed in Carolina blue. But the fans' standing ovation inside the Hall was reserved for the introduction of the Texas Western team, the first title team to start five black players.

Boston resident Jeremy Foster, who grew up in Kansas, drove to Springfield with his father, a Kansas graduate, to congratulate Williams. In the Hall's souvenir shop, he also bought a basketball decorated with the Jayhawks' logo.

"I'm hoping he'll still sign it," said Foster, 25.

With five Final Four appearances, 524 combined wins at Kansas and North Carolina and a career winning percentage (.800) that remains the best among active coaches with 10 or more seasons, Williams said the thrill of coaching remains.

He still feels a shiver of excitement before every game in Chapel Hill, just as he did walking through the tunnel at Kansas' Allen Fieldhouse for 15 seasons, Williams said during a short question-and-answer period.

"The night that I walk through and I don't get chill bumps regardless of who we're playing, that will be the night I make the decision that I'll retire the next day," he said.