How does Roy Williams’ retirement affect the incoming class of UNC basketball players?
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The end of an era: Roy Williams announces retirement
Read more coverage about Roy Williams’ retirement as coach of the UNC men’s basketball team.
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Fayetteville Westover’s dynamic guard D’Marco Dunn woke up to an alarming phone call Thursday morning.
Not too long before the rest of the world got the news, Dunn found himself talking to UNC assistant basketball coach Steve Robinson. Dunn couldn’t believe what he was hearing from Robinson on the other end.
Robinson told Dunn that Roy Williams, the man who recruited, offered and eventually signed Dunn, was retiring after 33 years on the sidelines.
Not the news Dunn expected to hear on April Fool’s Day.
“It was crazy,” Dunn said. “I woke up to Coach Robinson’s phone call so I knew it a little bit before … I didn’t see it coming at all.”
Dunn, a 6-4 shooting guard, committed to UNC in September and signed his National Letter of Intent in November. Dunn and Kinston small forward Dontrez Styles make up the two-man 2021 recruiting class for the Tar Heels.
During his conversations with Williams over the past few months, the 70-year-old coach never hinted at retirement.
As of this morning, Dunn said he hadn’t spoken to Styles or any members of the UNC basketball team. Dunn moved to the Fayetteville area from Arizona before the 2019-20 season. His stock quickly began to rise in the Tar Heel State. One of the first coaches in North Carolina to take notice was Williams at UNC.
“I spoke to Coach (Steve) Robinson (UNC assistant) weeks ago about him and then as time went on, Coach (Roy) Williams called and talked with me and they watched some film, they have plenty of game tape,” Dunn’s high school coach George Stackhouse said over the summer. “Roy was very impressed with what he saw for sure.”
Dunn committed a few months later; Styles committed in April of 2020.
The head coach opening doesn’t change any plans for Dunn right now.
“I think Carolina is still Carolina,” Dunn said. “Obviously, you want to have a good relationship with the coach before you get there, and we don’t know who that is. I still built a good relationship with the assistant coaches, and I still think there’s a spot on the roster and a great opportunity there for me. I’m not going to start running around right now. I don’t think too much is going to change.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2021, 12:12 PM.
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