Brothers of arms

CLEMSON, SC – For the second time in four years, a tight bend and the onslaught of dizziness that accompanied him brought Roy Williams to his knees and then into the locker room to see assistant coach Steve Robinson face off an opponent of ACC on the road.

Williams, who suffers from benign positional vertigo, has long been known for his momentary vertigo on the sideline, needing only a few moments to recalibrate and regain his integrity. On rare occasions, like Saturday, the Hall of Fame's head coach is suffering an unbearable pain that he is unable to overcome.

The last time the vertigo hit hard was in Boston in February 2016. At the start of the second half, while he was chatting with an officiating official during a media break, Williams went on collapsed on the key. He watched from the tunnel, out of sight, as his longtime assistant ran the Tar Heels after an eight-point deficit to secure a 68-65 win over Boston College.

Saturday, in the last minute of the first half, Williams rushed to send Seventh Woods in place of Kenny Williams and instead encountered a mental explosion. While he was leaving the field, he managed to signal to the crowd, but it was obvious that he needed the hands of Chief Sport Coach Doug Halverson and the Director of Development. players, Eric Hoots, to get to the locker room.

The lasting memory of the two events was not dizziness or victories after the fact, nor was the veteran assistant in the spotlight. Instead, it was the post-match press conference and the emotion that bubbled beneath the surface, filtering through the time needed to make its presence known.

Williams had no reason to join Robinson at the post-game press conference. The media, as well as the fans, understand his condition. And although Williams offered not to scream at anyone, it was only when he started to praise Robinson that his voice broke and he grabbed his assistant's plate to support him. .

"I started feeling a lot better, but he was six or seven years old and I did not want to worry," Williams said. "If we had lost, I would have gone out with them."

Basketball has been the link between these two men for 31 years, although this relationship is much more than sneakers, hardwood and a few different shades of blue.

"He was like a brother to me," said Williams. "He was like a best friend. It's a guy I could not be more proud of and I want him to have that feeling because he helped them with our players and I'm really proud. "

Robinson, as reserved as his boss is expressive, jokes that he would have preferred more notice. It's not as if that kind of moment was too important for the man the Tar Heels call Rob. He spent two years at the head of Tulsa's head coach before working for the position for five years as head coach of the state of Florida at the turn of the millennium.

Despite everything, Robinson acknowledged his concern for his friend after getting on his knees in front of the UN bench.

"When something like that happens, it shocks you a bit, but I rub shoulders with it and I know I have to move on," Robinson said. "… You have to step in and take command and try to direct them because if I get embossed, then what do you think they're going to do? They will collapse.

"So, it was not about that. It's just trying to treat it like we do every day and try to do the best job possible and try to put them in the right position so that they can play and give us the better chance of having success at the end of the match. . "

The Tar Heels played just enough to escape Littlejohn Coliseum with a win of 81-79, surpassing 41.3% shooting performance, 14 turnovers and a fragile defense to win for the 12th time in 13 games and improve to 8- 0 on the road in the ACC.

Kenny Williams, who made three critical free throws in the last 12.7 seconds, was a freshman in this UNC team that won at Boston College four years ago.

"It was already seen," said the senior guard. "And I knew that when the time came, coach Rob would arrive. I knew that coach Rob was going to offer us something important, and we did it. "

Williams was able to talk to his players at half-time, easing their concerns. The Tar Heels spoke of their respect for Robinson after the match, the recognition of his voice on the sidelines and his desire to win a little more with him in command in a unique situation.

However, what stood out in the locker room was no different from the one held at the post-match press conference, namely the importance of the relationship between the head coach and his long-time assistant. date, maybe a modern version of Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.

"These are brothers," said Kenny Williams. "They're brothers, you can see if you were with them every day, you could see it, you'll recognize it, they've been together for 24 years, I think I'm old and I'm 22, so they've been there since before my birth, you can see the fraternity that's there, they're really close. "

Sometimes it takes a trivial game for the true value of the sport to show through.