Who can think of Nike without thinking of Michael Jordan? And no die-hard fan can think of Jordan without thinking of his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Carolina basketball has a long and storied tradition, which is now being ushered into the next chapter by none other than Roy Williams. Williams came back to his alma mater to be the Head Coach of Carolina basketball in the fall of 2003. He left Kansas with a 418-101 record, 4 Final Four appearances, proven coaching ability, and respect from the basketball community.

      He also left Kansas with immense pressure in Chapel Hill. Chapel Hillians live and die by college basketball; there are few traditions that are as strong as Tarheel basketball in North Carolina. On game days, Franklin Street is alive with fans, bars are crowded, and the sky is painted Carolina Blue. Chapel Hill kids are raised to hate Duke and bleed Carolina blue. This was a fact I learned early on in my life. I moved to Chapel Hill in elementary school, and like any kid just moving to a new place, I wanted to make new friends and fit in. So on the first day of school during recess, the teacher introduced me to some girls in the class, and these were the first questions they asked me: "Do you like Pepsi or Coke?" "Do you go for UNC or Duke?" I had no idea if I liked Pepsi better than Coke because my parents didn't let me near either of them. So I picked Pepsi. That was the right answer, because Pepsi is the "taste born in the Carolinas", and everyone is a Pepsi fan. Now regarding UNC or Duke, I had no idea what these girls were talking about – why would they be asking me about colleges? But I did know that we moved to Chapel Hill because my dad wanted to work for UNC. So I said UNC, which was also the right answer, considering our elementary school was only 15 minutes from the Dean Dome. Suddenly, I had friends and a lifelong love for Carolina basketball.

      Winning is all that matters in Carolina basketball. Just take a look at Carolina's history. Arguably the greatest coach in NCAA basketball history is Carolina's very own Dean Smith, who is the current holder of the most-winningest NCAA basketball coach record (879 wins). However, early in his career at Carolina, the students hung Smith's image in effigy after losing 4 straight games! After Smith retired in 1997, the tradition of consistent winning translated into little tolerance for losing and much impatience. Bill Guthridge followed Smith; he won an ACC Championship, took Carolina to the Final Four, and was named National Coach of the Year. However, even that wasn't good enough, and the pressure was so great that he retired after only 2 years. Then, a young and energetic alumni Matt Doherty, who led Notre Dame to their best season ever in his first year as a head coach, was brought in. After 3 seasons, he was then run out of town quicker than Michael Jordan was given the boot with the Washington Wizards.

In the same way UNC is synonymous with hoops, the color itself has been an integral part of basketball shoes. Baby Blue, Carolina, Columbia, UNC... any way you name it, Nike's got this blue. Every Air Jordan model since the IX has had a colorway dedicated to this color. Did you know Michael Jordan wore a pair of UNC shorts underneath his Bulls uniform for good luck?

      Carolina fans rejoiced when it was announced that Roy Williams would be come the next Head Coach for Carolina. A son of the Carolina family, Williams is welcomed with open arms and embraced by the people of Chapel Hill and the students of Carolina. However, reputation, records, and all the good feelings for Williams can be thrown out the window if the Tarheels don't continue to win. Fortunately, Williams not only has the ability, the dedication, and the intangibles to bring Carolina back into the elite of college basketball, but he also has the needed talent on this year's team. Rashad McCants, Sean May, Raymond Felton, and Jawad Williams are as good as any starting four in the nation. All are young and will hopefully stay in school a few more years. This allows Williams to win now, and have time to build his own team through his incredible recruiting ability. He has started his first Carolina season well; we certainly hope he can keep it up.