President Obama admires longtime North Carolina coach Roy Williams
On the first episode of Monumental Sports Network’s interview series “The Walk-and-Talk, host and former aide to President Barack Obama says that the commander-in-chief “loves” Roy Williams.
“He loves Roy Williams,” Love said. “It’s sickening how much he loves Roy Williams. I admire Roy and I admire the Carolina program, but I still have these thorns in my sides because [Obama] never visited Duke’s campus.”
Before joining Obama’s senate office in 2005, Love attended Duke University where he played basketball and football. He won a national championship with the Blue Devils in 2001 and clearly, still wears his school pride on his sleeve.
Apr 2, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams reacts during the second half against the Syracuse Orange in the 2016 NCAA Men
Love also mentioned his back-and-forth correspondence with Obama after North Carolina lost in the 2016 National Championship game to Villanova on a Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater. Love said that he questioned Williams’ strategy to not foul a Villanova player before giving up a three-pointer, but Obama was quick to defend the Hall-of-Fame head coach.
“Yeah, he didn’t want to foul. I totally understand the call,’ ” Love said of Obama’s reply. “He’s not a guy who is going to tell guys how to do their jobs, but he’s informed about the game. I think for him it’s more about understanding what people’s motives were behind their decisions, as opposed to saying whether they were right or wrong.”
In April of 2008, Obama visited the UNC campus and played in a scrimmage with the basketball team. A year later, he welcomed the 2009 national champion Tar Heels to the White House after beating Michigan State for the title.
Apparently, Coach Williams has some friends in pretty daggum high places.
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