Marcus Paige and Roy Williams' Unique Bond at Heart of UNC's Run to Title Game

HOUSTON — Multiple times during the past few seasons—when his jump shots and free throws weren’t falling like they had in the past—North Carolina’s Marcus Paige heard the same pep talk from his head coach.

Or rather, it was an attempt at a pep talk.

“Don’t worry, big fella, I believe in you,” Roy Williams often said. “You gonna be OK?”

Paige always nodded and assured the Hall of Famer he was fine—even when he wasn’t.

Eventually, when things failed to improve, Williams approached his standout guard with a different question.

“Would it be better if I just left you alone?” he said.

Paige chuckled Sunday when recalling the exchange.

“That’s what I love about Coach Williams,” Paige said. “He gets me. He understands me. And, hey…it obviously worked.”

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Indeed, after struggling with his outside shot for most of the season, Paige has picked the perfect time to catch fire from beyond the arc. The senior enters the final game of his college career—Monday’s showdown with Villanova for the national title—having made 16 of his 34 attempts from three-point range during the NCAA tournament.

As proud as he is of himself for his resiliency and timely resurgence, Paige knows none of it would have been possible if not for Williams’ patience, confidence and support.

Not just this season, but throughout his entire career.

Williams has long been known as a coach who cares deeply about his players, but the bond he shares with Paige is particularly strong.

As much as Paige has leaned on his coach the past four years, Williams has drawn inspiration from Paige, too.

From the deaths of mentors Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge and best friend/golfing buddy Ted Seagroves to the academic scandal that caused outsiders to question his integrity, Williams has experienced a series of deflating moments that could’ve damaged his mental well-being and affected how he did his job.

Yet every time he walked onto the court for practice at the Smith Center, Williams found comfort in Paige’s upbeat spirit. He was inspired by his eagerness to learn and uplifted by the way his attitude was infectious to his teammates.

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“He’s had as rough of a stretch (off the court) as anyone I’ve ever been around,” Paige said. “Then, with us not playing quite to the level that his teams usually play, it was rough on him. He always reminded us that we were his bright spot during those tough times.”

Paige, more than any Tar Heels player, was a source of motivation for Williams.

When he signed with North Carolina four years ago, Paige figured he’d spend his freshman season backing up Kendall Marshall at point guard. But Marshall was so good in 2011-12 that he left school a year early for the NBA draft, where the Phoenix Suns selected him 13th overall.

With no other options, Williams was forced to start Paige as a freshman. He responded admirably by averaging 8.2 points for a team that finished 25-11 and earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But it was the following season when Paige blossomed into a star, earning second-team All-American honors from Sporting News after averaging 17.5 points. Paige’s success, coupled with his on-court leadership and high character, made him the face of the team, the spokesperson for a program that was now receiving publicity hits for a department-wide academic cheating scandal he had nothing to do with.

“It's like a father-son relationship with those two,” said Tar Heels forward Brice Johnson, who is also a senior. “Marcus, as a freshman, was always in his office talking to [Williams], trying to figure out what he needed to do. He essentially had to learn the entire system in a year. He’s spent way more time in Coach's office than I have, watching film and learning the entire system.

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“Since he's like the coach's son, those two have a really tight-knit relationship. It's worked in his benefit—it’s worked in both their benefits—and also the team.”

The 6’2” Paige entered his junior year with preseason All-American honors, but for the first time, he failed to live up to expectations. Injuries plagued him throughout the campaign. Paige shot just 41.3 percent from the field overall, and his scoring average dipped to 14.1 points per game.

His struggles carried over into this season.

Paige’s field-goal percentage (39.8), three-point field-goal percentage (34.8) and scoring average (12.3) are the lowest they’ve been since his freshman season. But none of that matters now, as Paige’s confidence—much like his production—has returned at the perfect time.

Yes, here are the Tar Heels, one win away from their first NCAA title since 2009 and the third of Williams’ career. Paige knows beating Villanova won’t be easy. The Wildcats trounced Oklahoma by 44 points in Saturday’s NCAA semifinal.

Villanova is led by guards Ryan Arcidiacono, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart. Throughout the NCAA tournament, the trio has been generating the same kind of praise and buzz that was once reserved for Paige.

“Our guards, especially me and Joel [Berry II], have been questioned a lot this year,” Paige said. “When teams talk about certain backcourt guys, we take it as a challenge to step up and prove ourselves. At the same time, our bread and butter is on the inside.”

While it’s true that the focal point of North Carolina’s offense has shifted to post players such as Johnson, Kennedy Meeks, Isaiah Hicks and Joel James, Williams knows the No. 1 seed Tar Heels (33-6) are on a different level when Paige is providing balance by making shots from the outside.

All NCAA titles are gratifying for different reasons. Even though this is far from Williams’ best North Carolina team, there may not be a group that holds as special of a place in his heart as this one.

And there may not be a player Williams has enjoyed coaching as much as Paige, who gave such an emotional speech on senior night Feb. 29 that Williams openly wept.

“Roy has appreciated their character and their perseverance through the whole thing,” assistant coach C.B. McGrath said. “He wants to make sure they’d reap some kind of reward. They’ve been through a lot.”

So, too, has Williams.

Just like he wants to see Paige and his teammates experience the joy of hoisting an NCAA championship trophy, the Tar Heels want the same for their coach.

“We were able to help him forget about all the other things that were going on,” Paige said. “I’m glad we were able to provide that for him. I hope we can win this for him on Monday, too.”

Jason King covers college sports for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JasonKingBR