Why 2013 Tar Heels Show Roy Williams Will Never Be at Coach K's Level

North Carolina's Roy Williams is one of the best college basketball coaches.

Going into this week's game against archrival Duke, Williams has a career record of 691-174 (79.9 percent; 24^th season), which puts him No. 20 on the all-time wins list

He has won two NCAA championships (2005, 2009) at North Carolina, and is one of several coaches who have won at least two national titles.

Unless the Tar Heels absolutely catch fire in the last month of the 2012-13 season, Williams will probably have to wait until next year to the join the “700-Win Club.” Whether he hits that milestone this or next year, he will have arrived there in less years than any other D-I coach.

It’s ironic, though, with all of his accomplishments and achievements, Williams’ reputation will most likely be that of a runner-up, a silver medalist, a second-placer to his adversary, Mike Krzyzewski.

While Williams has very few of his fellow coaches that can compare with the Asheville native’s track record, he will be evaluated for who is still ahead of him when all is said and done.

This season demonstrates why the 2013 Tar Heels show that Roy Williams will never be at Coach K’s level.

Like it or not, Tar Heel fans, Roy will never fully match up with Krzyzewski.

It is not likely that Williams will ever catch or pass K and his win total. Not that I’m predicting this, but it is all together possible that Williams will never gain any significant ground on Coach K.

This year has been a confusing and frustrating season (16-7; 6-4 ACC). It’s very possible that the Tar Heels will lose at least 10 games or more. That doesn’t happen much in Chapel Hill.

It happens even less in Durham (only twice in the last 25 seasons).

The Heels have won four consecutive games only once, and they have lost their seven games by an average of 15 points per game.

That’s getting thrashed.

You might be thinking, “But wait a minute. Didn’t Duke get stomped by Miami by 27 points?" The answer, of course, is yes. But their only other loss was an eight-point defeat at the hands of North Carolina State.

Overall, Coach K’s teams don’t get hammered multiple times in a season like UNC is getting.

In many of Carolina’s games this year, the players on the floor have looked baffled and bored. Not a good combination if you are want to take a legitimate shot at the ACC regular-season title.

Instead of working through these issues of flow and floor leadership, Roy has seemed to stay the course and keep going in the same direction.

Persevering and moving forward is a good idea if your team is playing well. The Heels are playing below average and don’t seem to make adjustments in the game plan or during the course of the game.

This current year’s fluctuations should be a thing of the past at this stage of the 2012-13 season. But they are not.

And we’re not talking about a lack of talent on the Tar Heel roster. Plenty of McDonald’s All-Americans on the floor or on the bench.

It’s not that Coach K is perfect. The Blue Devils have had their stinkers where they had to fight until the final buzzer just to ensure a “W” (see Duke’s close call this week at Boston College).

But it simply seems like Krzyzewski and his staff make good in-game adjustments or at half.

And as the season unfolds, K and his team shift gears and go to Plan B (when necessary).

I’ll say it again: Roy Williams is one of the best college basketball coaches.

It just stinks for him that the best active coach does his thing less than 10 miles away.