Roy Williams gives memorable response to fan’s tough question

One of the questions Roy Williams fielded from a fan Wednesday night during a Tar Heel Tour event in Charlotte was probably far tougher than those he typically receives from reporters during press conferences.

Asked if he stopped recruiting Mason Plumlee four years ago because he did not want to go head-to-head with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, Williams predictably chafed a bit at the line of questioning. Inside Carolina has the full response from Williams, who noted he won a fierce recruiting battle against Krzyzewski only two years ago to land Iowa native Harrison Barnes.

"I went to freaking Ames, Iowa eleven times and [Krzyzewski's rear end] went twice," Williams said. "Don't tell me I'm not going to go head-to-head."

Williams did go on to explain why he stopped recruiting Plumlee, making it pretty easy for the in-state product to decide to join his older brother at Duke in Feb. 2008. Travis and David Wear committed to North Carolina in Jan. 2008, taking up both the scholarships Williams had available for post players in that class and leaving Williams with no room for Plumlee on his roster.

"It was one of the dumbest things I've ever done, because I needed two post players and all of a sudden I get a phone call from the Wear family," Williams said.

The Wear twins, of course, played only one season at North Carolina before surprising Williams by abruptly transferring to UCLA. Plumlee, on the other hand, is expected to be Duke's interior focal point as a senior next season after averaging 11.1 points and 9.2 boards as a junior.