A segment early on in the ESPN broadcast of Friday night’s marquee game laid out the dizzying number of ties between the Kansas and North Carolina basketball programs.
A direct line extends back from both programs’ current head coaches to the inventor of the game, James Naismith, who coached Phog Allen, who coached Dean Smith, who coached Larry Brown and Hubert Davis (the current UNC basketball coach).
Larry Brown, meanwhile, went on to win a national title as Kansas’ coach and for one season had Bill Self – KU’s current coach – as his assistant.
Naturally, the segment showcased Roy Williams.