Hard work paid off for Tar Heels' Williams

By: JournalNow Staff | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 15, 2009

CHAPEL HILL

Roy Williams remembers times when he had a good feeling that a recruit would sign to play for him, only to see the player go elsewhere.

His vibe about the much sought-after Harrison Barnes turned out well for North Carolina.

Barnes, a 6-7 swingman widely regarded as the nation's top recruit, signed with Williams' Tar Heels program Friday. Barnes choose UNC from six schools that included national powers Kansas, UCLA and rival Duke. It ended a 16-month pursuit for Williams, who said he recruited Barnes probably harder than anyone in his career.

"I said right up to the very end I would not have been surprised with any of the six choices, and I really wouldn't have been," Williams said yesterday during halftime of the Miami-UNC football game. "We worked extremely hard and we've got a good product to promote, there's no question about that. I'd like to think that we're always going to try to outwork everybody else, but I wouldn't have been surprised" had he gone elsewhere."

As for beating out Duke in the recruiting of Barnes, Williams wouldn't dwell on it.

"Duke's going to get good players," he said. "I don't worry about Duke and I'm sure that they don't worry about us. They're hard to recruit against because they're so good.... They're all really good schools. You just want him to say your name, your school and then whoever you beat doesn't make any difference."