Jay Wright, Roy Williams yea, Jamie Dixon nay

[Orangeyes]

That's the report I got from one who has had to deal with all three.

Jay, we all know is a class act but there is something you should know about Williams that might change your opinion of him.

After losing to Syracuse, North Carolina was on their bus headed back to the hotel when all of a sudden the bus pulled over and out walked HCRW. It seems there was a small throng of fans waving and holding out pens and pads. Williams went over to them shook their hands, smiled and proceeded to pose for pictures, engage in friendly conversations and gave out autographs. He also had some of his players do the same.

Jamie Dixon on the other hand is miserable to everyone he encounters.

 

[HoustonCuse]

I never understood why some people have strong dislike for Roy. Dixon is straight out of the pages of DC Comics as one of those industrialist/evil mastermind type Batman villians, plus his teams have played like they are henchmen for years, so that I get.

 

[orange79]

That's the report I got from one who has had to deal with all three.

Jay, we all know is a class act but there is something you should know about Williams that might change your opinion of him.

After losing to Syracuse, North Carolina was on their bus headed back to the hotel when all of a sudden the bus pulled over and out walked HCRW. It seems there was a small throng of fans waving and holding out pens and pads. Williams went over to them shook their hands, smiled and proceeded to pose for pictures, engage in friendly conversations and gave out autographs. He also had some of his players do the same.

Jamie Dixon on the other hand is miserable to everyone he encounters.

Nothing you said surprises me in the least. Nice to have confirmation.

 

[JOC44]

When I went to college at the U of R, Jay Wright was the junior varsity hoops coach for a season or two. One of my friends from high school played on the JV so sometimes I played in pickup games with Wright. He was a good guy. He's only five years older than me, so he related well to the students, but he wasn't going to show up at a frat party. He understood that college was over for him and he was an adult.

 

[Alsacs]

Good story, Roy is a good person and like Mack Brown at Texas understands the importance of UNC Basketball especially in North Carolina. It doesn't shock me the guy would take a little time even in such a tough time to understand how his importance as the UNC coach and give a few minutes of his time.

Jay Wright is my favorite non-SU affiliated coach. The dude is all class and seems to be a good guy. I met him one time at a Starbucks at 7AM and he was sitting their in a Nova sweatsuit and ipad watching game film. While I waited for my drink I wished him well and the dude stuck out his hand and sincerely said thanks a lot man.

Jaime Dixon is the antithesis of class. He just always seems angry. Intensity is one thing, but the dude just seems like a douche. His brush-by handshakes are classless, his complaining for every call is annoying. If I was an official he would get a warning from me before every game and I would T him up to get him to stop acting like a 5 year old wanting every call.

 

[albanycuse]

I never understood why some people have strong dislike for Roy. Dixon is straight out of the pages of DC Comics as one of those industrialist/evil mastermind type Batman villians, plus his teams have played like they are henchmen for years, so that I get.

Who hates him really? Some just think hes a bit overrated like myself. He's a good guy.

 

[stuckinbig11]

Batman villian

I like it.

 

[ClamOtto]

This is exactly what you would expect from watching them on the sidelines and in interviews. Dixon is certainly the coach I dislike the most. Which is why I'm actually slightly surprised by Dixon. He seems so over-the-top despicable (as Houstoncuse said, like a Batman villain) that I almost expected it was a front for a warm and fuzzy off-the-court persona. Good to know what you see is what you get.

 

[RF2044]

Not remotely surprised, across the board.

Cue the pitt fan claiming what a great guy Dixon is.

 

[JohnCuse44]

Wait the UNC bus got flagged down by fans in Syracuse wanting autographs and such? Sounds like some people need there SU fan cards revoked.

 

[Madbiker]

I met Coach Williams at the 1996 Final Four in the Meadowlands. After watching SU beat Miss St. in the first game me and a few friends were mulling about the concourse killing time waiting for the 2nd game between UK and UMass. Roy Williams, who was the coach at Kansas at the time, comes walking by and we all said "hi coach". He stopped to talk to us for over 5 minutes talking to us about the game. He posed for photos then wished Syracuse good luck on Monday night. He just as easily could have blown us off and kept walking but he stopped to talk. Just shows you that he's really a very nice regular guy.

 

[OttoMets]

The prevailing Syracusefan.com opinion on Roy is a head-scratcher. Totally undeserved - he's a great guy and a very good coach.

 

[Orange Barrel]

I've met Jay Wright several times over the years through my job. He is always the nicest guy in the room. I always remind him on these occasions that I'm a Syracuse fan and I once suggested that he leave the Coreys (Stokes and Fisher) home for an upcoming visit to the dome. He is always good natured about it and always very complimentary to the program and JB.

Not surprised about Roy. He's an easy target for us, but I have no doubt he's one of the good guys.

I have nothing good to say about Jamie Dixon.

 

[PeteCalvin]

I have taken shots at Roy over the years, but never questioned his character. He is "good people", and always has been. I still love that he pulled a JB and told off Bonnie Bernstein after the 2003 championship game. Roy is one of the good guys in college hoops.

 

[Bayside44]

Met Jay Wright once at the Sheraton. Dude was drinking beer and having wings with some Villanova bosters. Came over to where we were, addressed all the SU guys (some were being honored - he knew and addressed them all by name). In an effort to make small talk I dropped a name of a friend from Villanova, he goes on about how they're coming up to the Cuse for the game, how was their family, etc, etc...he was painfully, painfully nice. Then he went out the next day and beat us.

 

[Jasoncuse]

Do people think Roy Williams isn't classy or a good person? It's his coaching that's questioned.

 

[jncuse]

Roy Williams is a good person and a great representative for UNC. I am certain he tries hard to build his players into men.

But he is not a great game day coach... and he has some bad moments over the years:

1) Abandoning the walk-ons at Florida St
2) Calling a timeout to yell at Stillman White at the end of the elite 8 a few years ago... the scrub point guard who had to play when Kendall Marshall went down.
3) The, "I know a woman could not ask a difficult question like that" attitude he had in the 2003 post game interview.


Jamie Dixon looks, talks, and acts like a douche. It doesn't surprise me that he is a douche behind the scenes. The most telling characteristic for Dixon for me is the post game handshake, which is basically a quick handslap. It doesn't seem like he respects anybody. Compare him to a guy like Bob Huggins - Huggins is intense and has his unlikeable traits. But he shows respect to other coaches.

 

[OttoMets]

Roy Williams is a good person and a great representative for UNC. I am certain he tries hard to build his players into men.

But he is not a great game day coach... and he has some bad moments over the years:

1) Abandoning the walk-ons at Florida St
2) Calling a timeout to yell at Stillman White at the end of the elite 8 a few years ago... the scrub point guard who had to play when Kendall Marshall went down.
3) The, "I know a woman could not ask a difficult question like that" attitude he had in the 2003 post game interview.


Jamie Dixon looks, talks, and acts like a douche. It doesn't surprise me that he is a douche behind the scenes. The most telling characteristic for Dixon for me is the post game handshake, which is basically a quick handslap. It doesn't seem like he respects anybody. Compare him to a guy like Bob Huggins - Huggins is intense and has his unlikeable traits. But he shows respect to other coaches.

I forgot about the walk-ons during the Florida State rout. That was not the right thing to do.

 

[Mano22]

I am pretty sure no one (sane) thinks Roy is a bad guy. They just think he is not the best/smartest coach in the world. Decent/good coach for sure, but not top tier.

 

[HurleyForHeisman]

Decent/good coach for sure, but not top tier.

Not top tier??? He has 2 championships and 7 final fours. When you adjust his career winning percentage for strength of schedule you can easily argue that he is one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game.

 

[Toga]

That would have been the first and only timeout he's ever called.

Roy Williams is a good person and a great representative for UNC. I am certain he tries hard to build his players into men.

But he is not a great game day coach... and he has some bad moments over the years:

1) Abandoning the walk-ons at Florida St
2) Calling a timeout to yell at Stillman White at the end of the elite 8 a few years ago... the scrub point guard who had to play when Kendall Marshall went down.
3) The, "I know a woman could not ask a difficult question like that" attitude he had in the 2003 post game interview.


Jamie Dixon looks, talks, and acts like a douche. It doesn't surprise me that he is a douche behind the scenes. The most telling characteristic for Dixon for me is the post game handshake, which is basically a quick handslap. It doesn't seem like he respects anybody. Compare him to a guy like Bob Huggins - Huggins is intense and has his unlikeable traits. But he shows respect to other coaches.

 

[Orangeyes]

Wait the UNC bus got flagged down by fans in Syracuse wanting autographs and such? Sounds like some people need there SU fan cards revoked.

They may have been UNC fans I'll check the next time I get a chance.

 

[Czar]

God, Roy sounds exactly like Mack Brown, to a damn T, except this time UNC isn't the stepping stone (Kansas isn't a stepping stone but you get the comparison) but the Texas of the equation. A great CEO type, all the HS coaches in North Carolina probably love him, recruits very well, but at this point on the court his coaching has fallen behind the curve and the fanbase on one hand is tired of it but on the other hand is just oh gosh, he's such a good guy and great mentor.

The only thing missing is a Duke coach who's a gigantic and plays constant head games with him (Speaking of, can anyone think of a Spurrier in College Basketball? Would Rick Pitino fit? He doesn't seem venomous enough in terms of throwing shade at his peers to be a Spurrier).

 

[kirbivore]

That would have been the first and only timeout he's ever called.

He probably figures it works for Phil Jackson, so why change it?

 

[Orangeyes]

I have met and observed several big time coaches and players in my time. Had dinner at the Retreat in Liverpool when Paul Evans was in town for a game. He seemed pretty good with our group but he did have an air of smugness at times just like he appeared to have on TV

Bruce Weber when he was in town for the regionals. Very warm person, talked to me like we had known each other all of our lives.

Gary Williams, rude.

Tubby Smith can't say enough good things about Tubby and how he treated everyone with dignity. Great sense of humor and great with young fans.

Jim Calhoun not fan friendly I did get some OK response that wasn't too bad but he disrespected the kids. Cocky.

Coach K cold and business like.

Coach Cal, the fans in Syracuse heckled him so much he didn't have a chance to show anything.

Players:

Doug Gottlieb got in an argument with some fans who were heckling him at the Dome practice.

Caron Butler, Emeka Okafor (UConn) and Tayshaun Prince (Kentucky) were all class acts with the kids.

At the regional final here the Duke players ignored all the kids with Duke jackets & shirts who sat through three practices to see them. Not even a wave or a smile

Maryland's Lonnie Baxter was about to sign one autograph for a kid and Gary William's grabbed him and pushed him to towards the locker room.