KANSAS CITY, Mo. — North Carolina coach Roy Williams returns to familiar territory in Kansas City this week as the top-seeded Tar Heels play in the Midwest Regional at the Sprint Center.
Kansas City, of course, is ran hour from Lawrence, Kansas, where Williams spent 15 seasons coaching the Jayhawks men's basketball team.
"It's a place that I loved for 15 years," Williams said this week. "Allen Fieldhouse is sensational, and the friends I have are still friends."
They almost weren't, at least for a few hours. The Jayhawks and Tar Heels were on a collision course if KU had beaten Auburn.
Instead, the Jayhawks were run out of the gym by the Tigers, who will face Williams' squad at 6:29 p.m. Friday.
"Somebody said, 'Are you glad you're not playing Kansas?' I said, '(Do) you want to play somebody in their backyard?'" Williams said. "If I was going to Lexington. I'd rather be playing Slippery Rock than Kentucky."
Things have worked out for Williams, who has won three national titles at UNC. But he hasn't lost his affinity for KU.
"If they're not playing us, I pull for them and we go from there," Williams said of the Jayhawks.
