Search results for ""author adam lucas""

"Roy Williams is awesome, baby, with a capital 'A.' "--Dick Vitale As he traveled across the state of North Carolina in the summer of 2003, Roy Williams delivered a repetitive refrain to the thousands of University of North Carolina basketball fans who packed his public appearances: "Ol' Roy ain't that good." Carolina fans didn't care to hear it, because they firmly believed that ol' Roy was, indeed, more than good--he was great. He was the prodigal son who served as Dean Smith's assistant coach, turned down the Carolina job in 2000, and finally accepted it in April of 2003. Williams became the Tar Heels's head coach after fifteen spectacular years at Kansas, and the immediate expectation was that he would find similar success in Chapel Hill, a once-proud program that had stumbled under former head coach Matt Doherty. But Williams knew something that it would take casual fans months to realize: Teaching the team of moody basketball players to play winning basketball would be about much more than simply what happened on the court. Williams had established a successful program at Kansas by connecting with the players he had recruited over their four-year careers. At Carolina, he had less than twelve months to turn a group of talented individuals into a basketball team that could function at the highest level of NCAA competition--the Atlantic Coast Conference. Going Home Again is the story of Roy Williams's first season as North Carolina's head basketball coach. Author Adam Lucas takes you inside the locker room and behind the scenes with the nation's most revered basketball program, providing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of one of the country's most secretive college sports dynasties.

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From 1971 to his retirement in 2011, Woody Durham was the “Voice of the Tar Heels,” the radio play-by-play man for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In this autobiography, Woody takes the reader on a nostalgic stroll down memory lane—from his descriptions of a sleepy Franklin Street in Chapel Hill and the days of football legend ChooChoo Justice to the enormous changes in college sports and how they are covered to his dozens of behind-the-scenes stories about the coaches and players he worked with during his tenure. An appendix offers Woody’s thoughts on every football and basketball player he covered who has an honored jersey at UNC. Adam Lucas grew up dreaming of becoming a Carolina basketball player. A severe lack of both height and talent curtailed that dream, but he discovered another way to get as close as possible to the Tar Heels--writing about Carolina sports. He is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and Tar Heels Today and a columnist on GoHeels.com. He is author of seven books about Carolina basketball. Adam lives in Cary with his wife, Jennifer, and four children. "Woody Durham is the epitome of a professional broadcaster, who just so happened to also love the Tar Heels as much as he did his craft. He prepared for each game as if it were the national championship and spoke about each player and coach with an enthusiasm that connected them to his listeners in a unique way. Woody helped bring the Tar Heels to life for generations of Carolina fans." Roy Williams

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When Hubert Davis was named head men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina in April 2021, history had already been made, as Davis became the program's first Black head coach. But after two difficult seasons, it was hard to imagine how quickly a new staff, a new playing style, and a new roster blending established players with prominent transfers and talented freshmen would be able to change the story—except within the fabled Smith Center locker room and practice gyms, where photos of the New Orleans Superdome helped players and staff focus on the possible.In words and photos full of behind-the-scenes moments, this book reveals how belief in the program's rich traditions and in one another enabled the 2021-2022 Tar Heels to achieve what at times seemed impossible, writing a thrilling new chapter in the story of Carolina basketball. From Davis's remarkable work to build a new staff and roster to the ups and downs of the conference season to the amazing run through March to the pinnacle of the college game, the story takes fans through one of the most dramatic years in program history.

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