Before every game of the college basketball season 2020-21, Roy Williams, head coach of the University of North Carolina, took the court and sat on the bench alone while he watched his team warm up.
During these moments along the sidelines, Williams would kick his feet up and show off with his extensive Air Jordan collection that he won in the final season of his 33-year head coach’s career of 903 after announcing his retirement. on April 1st.
Last summer, as UNC prepared to play a season amid the pandemic in the coronavirus, Williams decided to turn around the script of his traditional game dress and swap coats, ties and dress shoes for polos, pants and pair Jordans.
“I said, ‘I think I want to wear a different Jordan Brand shoe every game,’ Williams told reporters in February. ‘It’s easy for me because I’m a size 9.5, that’s the sample size. So I sent a lot of shoes over the years.
“I did it for nothing but how loyal I wanted to be to the Jordan Brand.”
Williams was an assistant coach in the UNC staff of his mentor, the legendary head coach, Dean Smith, in 1985, when Michael Jordan, the former Chicago superstar who became the Tar Heels, received his first gloves from Nike – the Air Jordan 1. Before the 1999-2000 university basketball season, His Airness’ alma mater became the first team in the NCAA to be sponsored by the Jordan Brand. In 2003, after the 15 seasons at the helm of the University of Kansas basketball program, Williams became the head coach at UNC, where he led the Tar Heels to three national championships in 2005, 2009 and 2017, with his teams leading the Jumpman logo on. on their uniforms and sneakers.
In 2017, the Jordan Brand gave the UNC head coach a unique pair of “Pinnacle” Air Jordan 1 Lows, signed by Jordan himself and stored in a personal oak box, to celebrate his 800.de career wins. And in 2019, Williams broke the Internet when he was coaching a match while wearing designer Virgil Abloh’s University blue Off-White x Air Jordan 1s.
AP Images
The night Williams broke out of the Off-Whites two years ago, the scene set for the 2020-21 season – his last at UNC, which will be remembered especially in sneaker circles. In 29 games this season, Williams has swung 29 different pairs of Air Jordans, including a crazy rotation of UNC player exclusions (PEs), a silhouette that paid homage to the program’s 1982 championship and low peaks that have nearly 15 in his kas was. years.
These are the top 12 pairs of Air Jordans that Williams wore during his farewell season, ranked by The Undefeated sneaker culture writer (and UNC alumnus) Aaron Dodson.
12. “UNC” Air Jordan 4
March 19 vs. Wisconsin
It’s no surprise that Williams’s an early pair of ‘UNC’ Air Jordan 4s (especially reminiscent of the 2002 print ad with Jordan in a jersey in North Carolina) six weeks before their scheduled release in late April got. It is noteworthy that the UNC 4s are the sneakers he wore for the final game of his coaching career – an 85-62 loss to the University of Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in 2021. Regardless of the outcome, Williams went out stylishly.
11. “Black Cement” Air Jordan 11 Lae IE
February 24 against Marquette
Williams took a breather from his regularly programmed programming of Carolina Blue Kicks (exclaiming for rapper Jay-Z) around the ‘Black Cement’ Air Jordan 11 Low IEs, which pays homage to the Black Cement 3s, one of the most venerable pairs Air Jordans. Coincidentally, Jordan debuted in 1988 with the Black Cement 3s, the same year Williams started his first head coaching job at Kansas.
“UNC” Air Jordan 11 Layer
December 2, 2020 teen Texas
While we hint at Williams’ decision to hone the ‘UNC’ Air Jordan 11 Lows, which first appeared in 2001 before returning in 2017, they praise the argyle socks he wore with the shoes for UNC’s championship game in the Maui Invitational Tournament. .
Air Jordan 1 Layer PE
January 20 against Wake Forest
Williams announced his retirement a few weeks before the release of the ‘Hyper Royal’ Air Jordan 1 Highs, which despite the name of the colorway looks like an acid-washed Carolina blue. Already in January, Williams took the sidelines in a pair of Air Jordan 1 PEs that look like the Hyper Royals – but are low. UNC fans chose this pair for Williams via a @UNC_Basketball Twitter poll which equaled the winner of the lowest Air Jordan 1s with a pair of Air Jordan 23 PEs with a low top. The takeaway is that Coach really is a few low tops for him.
8. Air Jordan x Converse Pro Leather PE
February 27 v. State of Florida
In the 1982 national championship game between UNC and Georgetown, 19-year-old Michael Jordan hit the match winner in a pair of Converse Pro Leather sneakers. Fast forward 35 years to 2017, when Williams, an assistant coach in the ’82 championship team, led UNC to his third (and now last) national title. In 2018, the Jordan Brand teamed up with Converse to design Williams and his pair of limited edition Pro Leathers pairs, each with a college blue Jumpman logo, in celebration of both titles separated by 3½ decades. Williams brought the championship games to court this season in his pair of Air Jordan x Converse Pro Leather PEs.
Air Jordan 1 Layer PE
February 17 against Northeast
During UNC’s 82-62 victory over Northeastern University in February, Williams honored former Georgetown coach and university basketball legend John Thompson Jr., who died in August 2020, with a towel over his right shoulder with an image of ‘Big John ”and some Air Jordan 1 Low PEs in soft blue suede with gold lace caps. A classic tribute – in posh kicks – from one titan of university bands to another.
“University Blue” Air Jordan 21 Layer
December 30, 2020 teen Georgia Tech
The ‘University Blue’ Air Jordan 21 Lows has been released only once – in July 2006, the year after UNC beat the University of Illinois in the 2005 national championship, with Raymond Felton beating Air Jordan 10s, Marvin Williams in Air Jordan 13s and Sean May in Air Jordan 19s. In the last game of 2020 at UNC, Williams broke out his nearly 15-year-old pair of Air Jordan 21 Lows and leveled them as they dropped on the SNKRS app that week. As you read this, Coach – what else did you have in that closet that day? 👀
5. Air Jordan 2 Layer PE
January 23 v NC State
Before running off to the national championships in 2016 (where they lost in a heartbreaking way to Villanova during an overtime-beating three-pointer), the Jordan Brand presented the program with pairs of specially designed Air Jordan 2 PEs, with an argyle lining and translucent soles that form the school’s ‘NC’ logo when each shoe is placed side by side. In a duel with NC State enemy NC State in January, Williams reminded us that only elite companies have it.
4. Air Jordan 13 Layer PE
25 November 2020 teen Charleston
The season after UNC lost in the 2016 national title game against Villanova, the Tar Heels returned to the NCAA Tournament, this time with Air Jordan 13 Low PEs, and finally achieved redemption after beating Gonzaga to the 2017 championship win. Williams opened the 2020-21 season in his lucky 13 PEs and set the tone for a final season full of fire kicks.
Air Jordan 3 PE
February 20 against Louisville
Do you remember the “UNC” Air Jordan 3s that went down in retail in March 2020? Well, it’s not that. Look at the “NC” logo on the pair that Williams wore on the sidelines of “Roy Williams Court” in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, during a February game against Louisville. Of course, Williams owns some Air Jordan 3 PEs made in 2018 for the UNC football team. (It would not be surprising if he also has the retail pair.)
Air Jordan 1 High PE
February 6 against Duke
In the biggest competition on college basketball at one of his most popular venues, Williams coached his UNC Tar Heels to a 91-87 victory over Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke Blue Devils in his final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 6th. That night, Williams has perhaps the most beautifully made Air Jordan 1s with the UNC theme. The pair of Carolina blue, navy blue and white PEs feature leather from reptile and pipe meat pattern, and although intended for the UNC football team, the sneakers end up on the feet of the school’s head basketball coach.
Air Jordan 5 PE
March 6 against Duke
There may be just one silver lining for UNC’s 2020-21 season that ended with Williams’ retirement: The Tar Heels defeated arch-rival Duke not once, but twice this year. UNC followed up its victory on the road to Duke in February by defeating the Blue Devils 91-73 at home on March 6 to end the regular season. Before leaving the floor in Dean E. Smith Center after the game, Williams knelt in midfield and kissed the hardwood. He experienced the moment in Air Jordan 5 PEs (which he made without care in the world), designed for the UNC football team with a top covered with Carolina blue elephant print. The pair he played in his last game against Duke and last on the home field that bears his name should be retired just like him. Williams’ Air Jordan 5s belong in a museum to celebrate a great coaching career that he ended with a whole swag.