Column: Calling BS when it's necessary

“D adgum” is usually sufficient for Roy Williams.

He often censors himself — at least in public. There was that one time, though, in 2003, when his Kansas team had just lost the national title game and he was asked, rather insensitively, if he had given any thought to the North Carolina coaching job.

“I could give a shit about North Carolina right now,” he answered, irritated, on national T.V.

Then there was Thursday, in San Antonio, when Williams took the AT&T Center stage as — ironically enough — North Carolina’s head coach.

“A frustrating group to coach?” Williams said, echoing a question he had received about UNC’s inconsistency. “Oh my gosh, no. All the bullshit around it has been frustrating.”

Williams offered a pseudo apology for his sharp tongue, saying he normally just uses the letters, “B.S.”

No apology was necessary. “B.S.” alone would not have been enough.

Whether you sympathize with UNC’s plight or not, you can’t argue that Williams’ team has been through one of its most wearing, chaotic, turmoil-filled seasons in recent memory.

Williams has said it’s been the toughest season he’s had as a coach. The P.J. Hairston investigation and his subsequent removal from the team was emotionally sapping. Add in Leslie McDonald’s NCAA troubles, a still-brewing academic scandal and a team that’s played like a Carowinds ride, and it’s a wonder UNC has even made it to the Big Dance.

It’s also a testament to the man at the helm, who has his No. 6-seed Tar Heels positioned to take on No. 11-seed Providence on Friday after starting 1-4 in ACC play. He maneuvered his team past all of the external distractions — or bull excrement, as Williams might say — and into the NCAA tournament, where many pundits, early on, said UNC didn’t belong.

His incessant talk of establishing a sense of urgency dominated every press conference, but it also clearly burrowed its way under his team’s skin as the Tar Heels rattled off 12 wins in a row.

Old Roy won’t read this. There isn’t a chance. He’s expressed his exasperation with the media on more than one occasion. At the ACC Tournament, after UNC fell 80-75 to Pittsburgh, Williams quipped that sophomore Marcus Paige was smarter than half of the journalists in the room.

Don’t blame him for his frustration, but also don’t blame the media for their coverage. They’re protecting the integrity of the sport; Williams is protecting the sanctity of his team.

“Almost every coach in the tournament loves their team,” Williams said Thursday. “It would be a great challenge to find a coach that loves their team more than Roy Williams does.”

That same idea held true for Williams 11 years ago when he told a T.V. reporter he “could give a shit about North Carolina.”

These days, it’s clear he couldn’t give more of one.